Unexpect the Expected
by horse.of.a.different.colour
Summary: And Mr. Filch, our caretaker, would like everyone to know th-" Professor McGonagall's speech was suddenly cut short by the slamming open of the Great Doors followed by a struggled sound emitted from a girl. "Get your ruddy hands off of me!"
1. If you've gone bonkers, there's no hope

**A/N ~ *Waves frantically* Helloooooooooo! This is my very first fanfic of any kind, and, I know you hear this a lot, but please be kind. I know this is a short first chapter but things really start to get going after this, TRUST ME I've had this idea for months. If there is anything you'd like to add to make it better, anything you notice I was inconsistant with or just any ideas you might have, lemmi know, I'm open! Don't judge the whole story by the first chapter, it does get better...at least that's how I plan it. I do plan on updating regularly cause I have nothing else to do. Hmm... how bout a peek in the story to peek your interest?**

**A seventeen year old girl with a mysterious background is forced into Hogwarts under the new laws enforced by the Ministry of Magic which state that every eligible witch and wizard must be trained properly. The more she learns, however reluctantly, about magic, the more her housemates and schoolmates learn about her. But one particular wizard's curiosity gets the better of him and unexpectedly eases his way into her trust. In the meantime, Death Eaters and followers of Voldemort are sent to take control of the school in order to keep on eye on those who may rebel. What will come of the world in this time of madness where trust is hard to find and friends are thinned out?**

**In case you haven't figured out, I kinda cancelled out DH and added my own storyline =D I will not expect a certain amount of reviews before I update, cause I'm just doing this for experience and to clear my head. Hope you enjoy it, if not, well read something else.**

**Disclaimer: If I really owned these characters, would I be making $100 every 6 months racing on my horse? *cries* Pffft...I only own MY character who shall be introduced next chapter. Shutting up now....**

***update* noticed I mixed past tense with present tense and kicked myself in the put..then edited.**

An owl hooted in the distance and flashed silhouette against the September harvest moon. The regular hunt of nocturnal animals during the early night was temporarily disrupted by the glow of candles emitted from a great stone castle so ancient it looks as though grown from the prehistoric earth it sits on. The faint sounds of cheers are heard from across the lake and attract the attention from the familiar wildlife. Through the massive window a great witch makes an inspirational speech to the witches and wizards of the future. Through all this happiness, a dark cloud weighs heavy inside the walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and inside the hearts of its students.

"Welcome all, to another year at Hogwarts. And to our first years, we wish you all the best of luck in your first year." Professor McGonagall starts off with a tight smile. "Now, that being said, there are new rules in which you must be informed. Due to recent events in the wizarding world and return of one particular dangerous wizard, I ask that no student is to travel alone at any time, especially after hours. Any sign of suspicious activity is asked to be reported to me or any other professor immediately..."

The innocent and shy ears of the first year clan hangs onto every word of the wise witch, although three students are all too aware of the rules to abide by and why they are expected to follow them. The trio eye each other knowingly and listen intently as one with dark hair leans forward.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?" Harry asks his two closest friends. "Can't you feel it? There's something...off. More so than usual."

Hermione's face brightens into a look of understanding and she nods slowly.

"I know what you mean, Harry. I can't put my finger on it but...who's that?"

Surrounding students at the table turned to look in the direction to which Hermione's eyes searched. Her companions turned around in their seats to follow Hermione's gaze towards the Great Doors and see...nothing. She shakes her head and narrows her eyes in determination.

"There was a black cloaked...never mind. Probably becoming too paranoid and now I'm seeing things."

"Nuh uh, Hermione, you don't 'see' things." Ron raised his eyebrows in worry. "We all know if you've gone bonkers, there's no hope for the rest of us."

Hermione shook her head slowly and rolled her eyes at Ron's comment, thus giving her friends her full attention once more

"No pressure, right?"

Her friends grinned cheekily at her and attempted to pay attention to Professor McGonagall's speech.

"As always, the forbidden forest is named just that for a reason, and very few who venture there ever return. That same ruling goes for the Black Lake; do not disturb the area surrounding as there is a monster of sorts that dwells in its depths and it has not known to be kind. And Mr. Filch, our caretaker here at Hogwarts, would like everyone to know th-"

Professor McGonagall's speech was suddenly cut short by the slamming open of the Great Hall doors followed by a struggled sound emitted from a girl.

"Get your ruddy hands off of me!"

***GASP*....ok not a real big cliffy here, but still. I really hope you liked it and expect an update in the next couple days =D**


	2. Now eat up, all of you

**Helloooooo again =D Well I am happy and quite surprised that I recieved over 30 hits and I even got my first review! *squeeeeeeeee* Hopefully people come back for seconds. This chap is MUCH longer, as promised, and more is learned from all the characters. I try to keep everyone as in character as possible, so if there on any tips on how to make it better, it is much appreciated. Hopefully I'll be updating every couple of days. It is 2:30 am right now so if there are mistakes, lets just save everyones eyes and get it fixed soon. Hope you enjoy =)**

* * *

"Get your ruddy hands off of me!"

Every head in the Great Hall snapped towards the doors towards a tall girl with long black hair and a stony expression. She forcefully jerked her arm away from a man cloaked in black and glared at him darkly. Slowly, she turned her green-eyed gaze to the watching students and glanced up at the golden podium to the elderly witch standing defiantly behind it. The dark haired girl squared her shoulders and walked straight backed and proud towards the front of the hall.

"What are you looking at?" She snarled at young Hufflepuff student, who cowered noticeably in his seat. As she looked up from the small boy, her eyes met with a pair of silver ones. The eyes belonged to the Prince of Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, and he eyed her with interest, although her gaze upon him was brief and blank. She soon approached the steps of the Hall and looked Professor McGonagall square in the eye.

"Glad you could make it, Pandora Witte. Please, take a seat on this stool."

Pandora glared coldly at McGonagall and stared pointedly at the stool with a large, ruffled, black hat set on top. She glanced at McGonagall once more before ascending the steps and plopped herself gracefully on top of the stool. The Sorting Hat sat to her eyebrows and stayed silent for a moment before finally speaking, making Pandora flinch.

"Ah yes. Only six years late-this makes my decision harder. You are a clever one, aren't you? That is a Ravenclaw trait, you know, but I see a darker side to this one. Hmm...you would do well in Slytherin." Chatter is faintly heard among the students. "Something else...something...different. Gryffindor!"

The normal explosion of applause familiar to all four houses was lost to shock, as only a select few cheers and claps were heard among the Gryffindor table. McGonagall removed the hat from her head and Pandora made her way to the table creating the most noise. Mutters were heard as she walked towards the end of the row and sat down stiffly, yet she held her head high and looked on towards the front of the hall wearing a blank mask. McGonagall nodded curtly and continued her speech.

"Most of you must be wondering why there are an abundance of new students of many ages at Hogwarts this year. Due to the circumstances and uncertain times we face, the Ministry of Magic has issued a new law: that every witch and wizard, aged eleven to seventeen, must be taught and trained properly in case...a battle is initiated by the Dark Lord. The Ministry requires as many as possible to fight. I will not sugar-coat the idea, for all of you deserves to know the truth, although none of you, I must say, have a choice. One thing I want none of you to forget, however, is your studies, first and foremost. Also...do not forget to enjoy your time here. Do not dwell on the idea of war, but instead, enjoy life to its fullest. Now, eat up, all of you."

The moment McGonagall turned around to face the Head Table, all four house tables became satiated with food. Pandora's eyes widened slightly at the sight, but she quickly recovered herself and picked slowly at little bits of food with a look of disinterest.

* * *

The Gryffindors surrounding the Golden Trio eyed Ron oddly; the feast had started five minutes ago and he had touched nothing. Harry nudged his best friend in the ribs who jumped and raised his eyebrows at his friend.

"What the bloody hell was that for?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron and nodded his head in the direction of the empty plate, but frowned when he saw that Ron was not even looking at him anymore.

"Oi, mate!" Ron blinked and looked at Harry in surprise. "Are you not feeling well? You ill or something?" Harry moved his hand to feel Ron's forehead but he swatted it away and shook his head.

"I'm fine, mate...people are looking."

"They were looking before, Ron. You haven't touched any of the food. That only happens if you're sick."

"I said I'm fine, Harry. I'm just...thinking."

Hermione sprayed the pumpkin juice she was just drinking from her goblet all over Seamus and promptly covered her mouth in embarrassment. Seamus's eyes popped open and he looked at Hermione is surprise.

"Oh, Seamus, I'm so sorry. _Scourgify._" Hermione dried Seamus of the pumpkin juice with a spell and a wand and returned her shaken focus back to Ron, who eyed her oddly.

"Surprised you there, did I? Sorry to disappoint you, Hermione, I do have thoughts floating around in this empty thing on my neck." Ron eyed her coldly and glanced to her left briefly before piling his plate up with food. Hermione raised her eyebrows at Harry and he shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips.

"I'm sorry, Ron. I'm not implying that you are stupid. I have simply never heard you utter those words before...it would be like a curse word flying out of my mouth." Ron glanced up at Hermione, a less cold expression gracing his face. "What were you thinking about?"

Ron playfully stabbed at his baked potato and glanced once more to Hermione's left. "The-uhh-the war."

Harry grinned at Hermione knowingly and she glanced to her left and noticed Pandora, picking at her food, her back still stick straight and shoulders still squared. Hermione quirked an eyebrow at Harry and continued to eat her meal. After a little over an hour had passed over the feast, the Prefects of each house led their pupils towards their respective common rooms. Harry, Hermione and Ron were already sitting in large burgundy chairs set in a circle when Pandora cautiously walked through the portrait hole. Her piercing green eyes settled on Ron for a mere moment before immediately seeking the fire. Her feet followed her gaze to the fire and just as she was about to sit down on the couch before it, Professor McGonagall walked through the portrait hole and settled her gaze on the Trio.

"Have any of you three seen-"

The Trio pointed their fingers towards the fireplace before McGonagall could finish her sentence. She walked to Pandora with purpose and stood in front of her, blocking the view of the fire. She looked McGonagall square in the face, defiant. McGonagall took a deep breath.

"You will come with me. Now."

The elder witch turned promptly on her heel and left the common room without a second glace. Pandora fixed her gaze on the Trio once more, glaring at them all in turn, before exiting the common and following McGonagall.

"Bloody hell, if I didn't know any better, I'd say she was a Dementor, the way the looks at you." Ron exclaimed, a touch of awe in his voice. Harry rolled his eyes at Hermione who in turn quirked her eyebrow again.

* * *

Pandora followed the old witch down dark, ancient halls, turning and climbing stairs so often, she thought she may lose her way when she would return to the common room. McGonagall had finally come to a stop in front of a finely crafted stone gargoyle.

"I thank you for making your way here at last, but please, try to keep up. Golden beak."

Pandora gave the Professor a strange look and jumped when the gargoyle began to move counter-clockwise and upwards, revealing a stone, spiralling staircase. McGonagall began to ascend the steps and halted one quarter of the way up.

"I suggest you follow me soon, Ms. Witte, the staircase will not remain open forever."

McGonagall started up the steps once more, this time followed closely by Pandora. She stepped through a round door into a round room filled with moving portraits of elderly witches and wizards garbed in long, bright robes and stopped by a desk piled high with books, robes, and accessories.

"Now, seeing as we had to enrol you here by force, we took the liberty of buying the supplies necessary for your learning at Hogwarts. These-" McGonagall pointed to three long boxes on the desk in front of the books. "-are the wands chosen for you. Take each one in your hand and see if you are compatible with it. Go on."

Pandora hesitantly opened the lid of one box and picked up the long, slim piece of wood, eyeing McGonagall cautiously. She jerked it towards the desk, which in turn threw everything off of it and onto the floor, making Pandora jump and drop the wand. McGonagall shook her head in slight exasperation.

"Don't dwell on it, Ms. Witte, try another."

Pandora glared at the witch and removed the lid of the second wand. The black length of the crooked wand seemed to suit Pandora right away, and the moment she jerked the wand back at the desk everything that was shoved off the surface was promptly replaced.

"Ah. Eleven inch Mahogany with a Chimaera Scale core. Very rare, Ms. Witte. Perhaps there is more to you than meets the eye."

"What would make you think that?" Pandora questions, curiosity getting the best of her.

McGonagall smiled thinly. "As Olivander would say, the wand chooses the wizard. A core that unique choosing someone like you is no accident."

"I don't even bloody know what a 'Chimaera' is, how am I supposed-"

"You will watch your tongue in my office, Ms. Witte. You will learn about these creatures soon enough. For now, take your things to your dormitory. You will find your clothes are by your bed. Your schedule is also in one of your textbooks, and you will be taking extra lessons with the top student who happens to reside in your house. I'm sure you may have heard of her? Hermione Granger?" Pandora stays silent and stares blankly into McGonagall's eyes. "Very well. Breakfast is at six am, classes start at eight. See you tomorrow, Ms. Witte."

Pandora tucked her wand into her back pocket and gathered the eight thick textbooks and black robes into her arms, hanging the black cauldron over the nook of her arm, and headed out the door. McGonagall glances over at Fawkes and sighed. "Dumbledore, I daresay you would have had some fun with this one. Head of a Goblin, she has."

Pandora eventually found her way back to Gryffindor tower after some incidental wandering and an unwillingness to discover the hidden parts of the castle, not to mention the moving staircases. She muttered the password to the common room and stepped through cautiously. As she walked past the Trio, a deep voice penetrated her ears.

"Err-H'llo. I'm-I'm Ron Weasley. Um-you-you're Pandora?"

Pandora turned around to face Ron, red faced and fidgeting with his hands, and glared at him for a moment before turning around and heading up the steps. Ron turned to face his friends, halfway between laughing hysterically and fidgeting in nervousness as Ron did.

"Well...I probably got her at the wrong time, you know...with the...books and all."

Harry grins. "Yes, Ron, that was the problem. She hasn't glared anyone down at all today."

* * *

**Hehehe...hope you like Pandora!! =P well I don't expect you to like her NOW but she might grow on you.**


	3. Don't give Granger a hard time

**Hellooo again! Sorry I took so long posting this chapter, my laptop does not have Word and so I am using my step-dads and, well, he's very laptop possessive. I know this is a very long chapter but what I wanted to accomplish is a list of personalities and characters to give you an idea of what Pandora's year is going to be like. I PROMISE I will not detail her days like this anymore, as it will become too tedious, but now you know whats going on in her world for the rest of the story and hopefully no one will b e confused. If I messed up on any spells or classes or characters I deeply apologize. I did A LOT of researching to get all the info I did and I really hope I did it justice! Let me know how you like it =)**

* * *

The early morning sun peaked through the soft crack of the curtains and illuminated the peaceful face of Pandora. She squinted her eyes against the bright beam of light and sat up abruptly, scanning the room with trained eyes in the darkness surrounding her. She shook her head slightly, remembering where she was, and swung her legs out of the bed. _Just a silly reflex. _She turned around to face the plain white shirt and black robes she was required to wear sitting on the night table with a look of slight disgust and began buttoning up the plain shirt and slipping on the dark skirt. Pandora barely glanced at herself in the mirror before walking past the sleeping Gryffindors towards the girls wash room where she brushed her teeth and applied dark make-up around her green eyes. She returned to her four-poster bed and skimmed through her text books until she found her schedule for the school year.

6:00 – 7:45 am – Breakfast

8:00 – 9:00 am – Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall, First Floor

9:15 – 10:15 am – Potions, Professor Esson, Dungeons

10:30 – 11:30 am – Herbology, Professor Sprout, Ground Floor

11:45 – 12:00 pm – Break (Tutoring)

12:00 – 1:00 pm – Lunch

1:00 – 1:15 pm – Break (Tutoring)

1:15 – 2:15 pm – Defence against the Dark Arts, Professor Bates, Second Floor

2:30 – 3:30 pm – Charms, Professor Flitwick, Third Floor

3:45 – 4:15 pm – Apparition, Professor McGonagall, Headmaster`s Office

6:00 – 7:30 pm – Dinner

9:00 pm – 6:00 am – Curfew

Pandora`s eyes widened slightly at the work load she would be receiving this year. She decided to gather the first three textbooks she would need along with a long role of parchment and her quill and ink, hooked the cauldron in the nook of her arm once more, and headed downstairs to the dark common room just as a few waking moans were emitted from the students. The fire was alight in the round room, creating a golden glow that made the room appear warm and welcoming. Pandora was just about to walk out the portrait hole when a voice froze her feet.

"Oh, Pandora? Is that you?"

Pandora slowly turned around to face the person who she knew belonged to that voice: Hermione Granger. She smiled sweetly at Pandora and took a few brave steps towards her.

"I'm Hermione. I'm sure Professor McGonagall has informed you that I am to tutor you this year?"

Pandora stared at Hermione with a blank expression on her face. Hermione stood her ground and continued.

"Yes, well, um...just come here after your third class, the one before lunch, and I will help you with anything you think you need further advancement on, all right?"

Pandora nodded curtly and turned around on her heel towards the portrait hole. Hermione sighed, gathered her things off the desk, and hesitantly followed the strange girl.

Pandora kept up a quick pace down various stairs and through long halls towards the Great Hall. She gasped as she realized, halfway down, that the staircase she was currently descending was moving. She grabbed onto the railing with one hand, dropping her quill and one text book, and looked wildly around her until the movement stopped. She cautiously walked down the steps and reached for her quill but stopped abruptly when a small hand grasped the long feathery piece. Pandora shot her head up in surprise when she saw Hermione kneeled down beside her, handing her the quill, and grabbed the text book, eyes never leaving the form in front of her.

"I was a little unsure of the staircases as well. You get used to them."

Pandora obtained her fallen quill from Hermione and eyed her suspiciously. She nodded her head curtly once more and rose to her full height. By the time Hermione rose as well, Pandora was all the way down the steps and turning the corner down the last corridor. She continued her brisk walk until she reached the great doors and peeked through. There were very few students sitting at the four tables when she walked towards the Gryffindor table, sitting in the spot she vacated last night. There was no grand appearance of endless amounts of food as there was the night previous, but instead every now and then a platter of treacle tarts or a plate of bangers would arrive in random parts of the table. Pandora picked at bits of food in the platters in front of her without any signs of interest showing upon her face, her posture still perfect and stiff. A familiar blonde-haired Slytherin slowly made his way to Pandora from the entrance. Pandora felt someone's eyes on her back and heard faint footsteps and so decided to stand up and face them and demand they keep their eyes in their own sockets and move along. She came face to face with Draco Malfoy, who was grinning like a fool and too close to Pandora for her liking. Noticing the look on her face, he took half a step back but spoke anyway.

"You are new here, aren't you? Malfoy-Draco Malfoy." He took Pandora's hand and kissed it, the smile never leaving his face. Pandora's face remained unaffected, however. "If you need anyone to show you around, maybe see the special hiding places that only I know, you can find me over there." He nods his head to the table behind Pandora and winks. Pandora raised an eyebrow at Draco and promptly spun around, plopped herself back down on the bench and resumed picking at the food in front of her. Draco walks towards his table dumbfounded, and sent a curse word towards Blaise who covered his laughter behind his hand.

After another unexpected encounter with more moving stairs, Pandora finally made her way to Transfiguration class with five minutes to spare. She picked a seat near the back of the large classroom and set all but one text book on the floor beside her desk along with her wand, quill, ink, and parchment. There was a short, buzzing sound heard and Professor McGonagall emerged from her office and descended the stairs. A few more students ran into the classroom out of breath and beaded with sweat.

"Mr. Finnigan, Mr. Thomas, it would be wise to be on time from now on." They nod fervently and take one of the empty seats near the front of the class. "And that goes for all of you. Welcome to your seventh and final year in Transfiguration. As I'm sure all of you are aware, the spells will be more difficult, the lessons will be more detailed, the expectations will be higher and the homework will be more extensive. Failure to keep up with demands of this classroom risk failing my course, so learn the importance of hard work and do not underestimate it. Now, first lesson of the day..."

Pandora spent the lesson taking notes from McGonagall and from the textbook about Animagi and the complications one goes through during the process of becoming one. The homework consisted of an eight-inch essay on the process of an Animagus and various forms, due Friday of the next week. Just as Pandora was about to head out the door, McGonagall called for her to stay for a moment. She approached the witch and eyed her oddly as a small smile was placed on her firm face.

"I must admit, I am impressed at your vigour to learn. Keep this up and I see a future for you in the wizarding world. Off you go, don't be late." Pandora, once again, nodded curtly and headed off in the opposite direction. "And don't give Granger a hard time, Ms. Witte."

Pandora delved deeper into the dungeons as she searched for the Potions classroom. Too proud to ask directions, she followed the gentle flow of students until she caught a familiar flash of jet black hair. _He's in Gryffindor. _She subtly followed the boy until he disappeared in a dark, smelly, eerie classroom. A skinny, bald man sat at the desk near the front of the class, eyeing every student who entered his classroom with a piercing silver gaze. Pandora once again took the seat near the back of the classroom and watched as the dark-haired Gryffindor sat beside another student with dark skin.

"Didn't know it was possible, I think this bloke has a look that could rival Snape."

Dean held back a laugh and turned to Harry, grinning.

"Well, Snape had those dead eyes, you know, this bloke can bore a-"

"Welcome, all, to your final year in Potions. I have very few expectations. Listen, pay attention, and be on time. Failure to comply with these could result in viewing my bad side."

"I was unaware this was his good side-"

Dean jumped when Professor Esson's face was suddenly directly in front of his desk, glaring at him with harsh red eyes...red?

"Mr. Thomas, I greatly appreciate you abiding my rules but, please, save some arse-kissing for the rest of the class." Esson's voice rang harsh through Dean's ears and he visibly shrunk in his seat as the Professor returned to the front of the classroom. Harry narrowed his eyes slightly at Professor Esson and remained wary of him throughout the lesson. "Now, turn to page forty-seven, read, and take notes."

Pandora glanced up from her parchment every now and then to look at the Professor and found that his cold, accusing eyes had never left hers. Unaffected by his gaze, Pandora finished her notes and began the assignment on creating Veritiserum and the rules surrounding it. Pandora all but ran out of the classroom at the end of class and made her way up two flights of stairs towards Herbology. As she neared the greenhouse just outside the castle walls, she noticed a small commotion of sorts through the blurry cover and a growing collection of students just outside the entrance. Professor Sprout exited the green house just as Pandora reached it and heard her attempts to clear the area.

"Off to your classes, now, all of you! Any student scheduled for Herbology during this time must please return to your dormitories or remain in the Library. I'm afraid class today has been cancelled due to an unfortunate Venomous Tentacula incident." She turned abruptly and grasped two and the three students squealing and writhing slightly and marched them into the castle. The students surrounding the building looked around at each other questioningly and Pandora winced as a long, dark tentacle slapped the wall nearest her. She sighed silently and made her way back to the Gryffindor tower, having no clue where the library was. She jumped slightly as she heard angered screaming upon entering the portrait hole and raised an eyebrow at the culprits.

"Ronald, I am not saying that you are dense! I am simply pointing out that are intelligent if you apply yourself, and you don't! There is no need to insult me!" Hermione's hair blazed wildly around her red face as she lost control of her anger.

"That's easy for you to say, Hermione! You're the smartest witch of the age; it comes so easy to you! I try my flaming arse off and get disappointing results every time! No wonder why I no longer apply myself, Hermione! Face it, all I'm good for is wizard's chess and being Harry Potter's stupid sidekick!" Ron's red face and defeated figure approached Pandora and he stopped suddenly, his face growing impossibly redder. He shook his head slightly and walked past her towards the portrait hole. Hermione never turned around, but instead sighed deeply, shook her head and moved to sit on the couch in front of the fireplace. Pandora raised an inquiring eyebrow at the situation and sat at the desk set on the other side of the room, but flinched when the chair screeched across the floor, causing Hermione to leap out of her seat and point her wand at Pandora. Hermione took a deep breath and lowered her wand by the time Pandora took her seat and began her first assignment.

"Sorry. I'm afraid I'm a little on edge."

Pandora nodded her trademark nod and remained focused on the task at hand.

"Don't you have a class to be at right now?"

Pandora took a deep breath and looked Hermione right in the eye.

"Venomous Tentacula."

With that said, Pandora went straight to her work once more as Hermione nodded, eyeing her oddly.

"Do you need help with anything?"

Pandora raised a single finger in the air, signalling Hermione to wait, without breaking her concentration. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but snapped it shut and replaced her seat on the couch, the only noise filling the room being the scratching sound from the quill marking the parchment and occasional crackle emitted from the fireplace. After no longer than forty-five minutes had passed, Pandora shut her text book and rolled her parchment into a thin cylinder. She was just about to make her way upstairs when that same familiar voice once again froze her steps.

"Did you still need help with anything?"

Pandora turned her head slightly but continued up the stairs to the seventh year girl's dormitory. Hermione sighed once more and rubbed the bridge of her nose in slight exasperation. Just as she was about to return to the couch, she heard footsteps descending the staircase and turned to find Pandora face to face with her, wand in hand. Hermione's eyebrows rose considerably.

"I'm curious."

Hermione nodded. "So...what would you like to learn?"

Pandora seemed to have trouble with socialising and asking for help, but spoke confidently and never faltered. "What did you learn your first year?"

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows slightly and eyed her wand. "Lumos."

Pandora blinked as Hermione's wand tip lit up. She lifted her wand in front of her face and took a deep breath. "Lumos." The wand tip flickered on and off a few times before staying unlit completely. Pandora eyed the wand fiercely.

"It's all right, it's completely all right. Don't expect everything to work for you the very first time. You need patience. Just try again."

Pandora took another deep breath. "Lumos." The wand tip illuminated brilliantly and although no smile graced her face, Pandora's glare softened slightly and she looked at Hermione expectantly.

"Oh...well, very good. To extinguish the light...Nox." Hermione's wand tip darkened.

Pandora glanced from Hermione to her own wand and uttered the proper word. "Nox." Her wand tip darkened as well and she nodded approvingly.

"Levitation is quite simple as well, although there are more complicated wand movements. I remember them as 'swish and flick'. Combine this movement with Wingardium Leviosa." Hermione did just that and levitated a forgotten piece of parchment lying on a nearby chair. She lowered her wand and so lowered the parchment. Pandora eyed the parchment and her wand in turn.

"Wingardium Leviosa." Pandora swished and flicked her wand and the parchment reacted properly. She replaced the paper to its spot and took a deep breath. She looked Hermione in the eye and nodded her head once more before returning up the stairs. Hermione smiled to herself returned to her seat in front of the fireplace.

* * *

Pandora took her familiar spot at the Gryffindor table and her ear picked up a conversation held a little ways down.

"You had another row with Hermione, didn't you?"

Ron never lifted his gaze to his best mate but the solemn look worn on his face answered Harry's question.

"Ron...I don't even know...the both of your are too sensitive sometimes, you take things too far-"

"Look, Harry, if you're going to take her side, then just go ahead. I really don't care."

Harry sighed and shook his head before grabbing Ron's shoulders and forcing him to face Harry.

"You thick headed...boggart!" Ron blinked at this and raised his eyebrows slightly. "How long have we been best mates? How much have we gone through together? You know I don't take sides. But you two need to work all this bloody crap out, and soon." Harry dropped his hands to the table and looked around cautiously before dropping the volume of his voice considerably. "You know what Dumbledore had set out for me...for us. We need to stick together now more than ever. And you and Hermione need to...grow up!" With a definitive nod, Harry began his lunch, leaving a dumbfounded Ron blinking wildly and repeatedly opening and closing his mouth.

Pandora returned her attention to picking at the food in front of her with disinterest.

Hermione walked into the common room and noticed Pandora sitting on the couch in front of the fire place, gazing into the fire intently.

"Is there anything else you would like to know?"

Pandora turned her head slightly in acknowledgment of Hermione and rose gracefully from her seat, wand in hand. Hermione pulled her wand out of her robes and walked towards Pandora, illuminated by the flame's light.

"One of the spells that will make your life easier is the Summoning Charm." Hermione pointed her wand towards Pandora's quill set on the table to the side of the couch. "Accio quill." The quill immediately raced to Hermione's open hand, which she promptly replaced on the table. Pandora looked around the room and her eyes focussed on her Charms text book set upon the same table as her quill.

"Accio Charms book."

Her text book bounded off of the table and straight into Pandora's hand. She eyed the book approvingly and set it back down in its original place. Hermione eyed an ancient plaque placed upon the fireplace and reached for it. Pandora eyed her oddly and raised an eyebrow as she watched Hermione drop the item on the ground, shattering it to hundreds of pieces. Hermione took a deep breath and looked at Pandora with amusement flashing in her eyes.

"I am not mental. Gently flick your wand in the direction of the broken pieces and say, reparo."

Pandora slowly pointed her wand towards the broken mass and flicked her wand while muttering, "Reparo."

The pieces of the plaque instantly jumped back together and immediately sat at its base, apparently unaffected by its previous trauma. Pandora replaced the plaque upon the fireplace and nodded curtly at Hermione before gathering her text books and robe and headed out the portrait hole.

* * *

"Who was the last professor in DADA who lasted longer than a year, anyways?" Ron inquired as he, Harry and Hermione entered the infamous classroom.

"Galatea Merrythought. After she retired, You-Know-Who wanted the job."

Ron gave Hermione a cold look and sat in a seat near the back of the classroom, leaning his head on the palm of his hand. Harry and Hermione vacated the pair of seats just in front of him, thinking he needed to calm down before engaging in any human interaction. Ron lifted his head as a shadow covered his desk and noticed Pandora standing beside him, scanning the room supposedly for empty desks. She sighed softly and slid into the seat next to his and promptly set her text book, parchment and quill on the table in front of her. Ron noted her stiff posture and blank face with a strange look and nearly fell off of his chair when she turned to face him, her blank expression now masked with a look of annoyance.

"What are you looking at?"

Ron's eyes widened and he quickly whipped his head around to face the front of the room. Pandora eyed the strange boy seated next to her for a moment before returning her gaze to the tall, dark skinned woman.

"Welcome to your last year in Defence against the Dark Arts." Her voice was deep and rich and enticing. "I am Professor Bates, but, please, call me Anastasia. Don't want to make me feel any older than I am." The class chuckled gently and relaxed. "My job this year is to teach and show you advanced defensive magic. Magic that can be expanded on. Magic that can be used in these dark times. Magic that can be used in the future. And maybe...magic you shouldn't even be aware of at this age." She eyed each student in turn, an amused glint in her eye. "Now, if you all please turn to page twenty-eight and read along with me. No notes needed, please."

The lesson included the professor reading off of the text book and taking in inquiries and questions any student had and the only assignment she had provided was reading the chapter on the Disillusionment Charm. Ron slowly gathered his books and such into his arms and his head shot towards Pandora as her leg pressed against his while picking her things up off of the floor. She stood up abruptly and left the classroom, supplies in hand. He shook his flaming red hair and headed off to Charms without Harry, deep in thought.

Pandora was heading up to the second floor of Hogwarts for her Charms class when she heard the clomping sound of an approaching human. She kept up her pace down the corridor and around the corner until she came to stop in front of the classroom whose doors were currently closed. The footsteps stopped behind her just as she lifted her hand to test the large doorknob.

"Locked?" A deep voice rang in Pandora's eyes and she turned her head just enough to catch a flash of red hair.

"Evidently." Pandora responded sarcastically.

"Try Alohomora." Ron said casually.

Pandora turned her head fully to eye Ron questioningly. It was then that he noticed her height; her fierce green eyes were level with his calm blue ones. His ears began to burn red and he decided to ease her curiosity. Ron cleared his throat and pointed his wand at the doorknob.

"Alohomora."

The knob made a struggling sound and twitched this way and that before returning to the inanimate silence it had occupied before. Pandora sighed loudly and leaned against the wall next to the old door.

"Did you mean for that gibberish to affect the door?" Pandora asked Ron, a bored undertone heard in her voice.

"It was...uhh...supposed to unlock the door, yeah." Ron lowered his gaze to the floor and leaned against the wall on the other side of the door. "Probably has a more protective charm on it. Should've known...since it is Charms class." He chuckled humourlessly and stuck his hands in his pockets. Pandora shook her head slightly and opened her text book, reading through the first page. Ron jumped as a sudden click of the knob and squeak of the hinges broke the silence surrounding the corridor. Pandora lazily turned her head towards the entrance and blinked when she noticed no one was there.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley, sorry I frightened you there. Well, you're here rather earlier than usual..." A small voice erupted from the doorway and Pandora looked lower in the doorway to see a small, bearded elderly wizard with kind eyes.

"Err...yeah, Professor Flitwick, thought I'd try harder this year." Ron replied as he entered the classroom. Students began to walk by the classroom as others filtered into it and Pandora decided to follow. The long classroom and high ceiling created a stuffy and open feeling at the same time and Pandora decided to take a seat in a spot nearest the door, regrettably nearest to Ron also. Harry entered the classroom just before Flitwick began speaking, and took a seat on the opposite side of Ron while giving him a strange look.

"Alright, now that you are all here, welcome to seventh year Charms! Best of luck to you all. I recognize many faces here today so I shall just get on with the lesson. I would like to remind you of some of the spells we learned within the last two years. Now, everyone remembers Aguamenti, Silencio, and, of course, the Bat Bogey Hex. One thing we did not learn last year, however, was the Patronus Charm. Now, I believe this is one of the most important charms to learn, not only against Dementors, but to send important messages to others that would take too long to send by owl. Now, keep in mind, one needs an exceptionally happy memory to sustain your Patronus. Let it embrace you, and utter the words Expecto Patronum. Go on, now, I'll leave you to it."

The entire classroom erupted with chatter and determined yells of the incantation. Pandora was the only one who could not conjure a Patronus, and no one seemed to notice save for one curious student.

* * *

Pandora sat stiffly on the floor in front of the fire, mesmerized by the dancing flames. Little by little the Gryffindor students began to file upstairs to their dormitories until the only ones left were Hermione, Ron, and Pandora.

"Ron?" Hermione asked, meekness touching her strong voice.

"Mmm?" Ron grunted from a chair in the corner of the room.

"Are you still angry with me?"

Ron opened his eyes slightly and sighed. "I s'pose not. Had time to calm my thick head down."

"Ron-"

"No, you're right, Hermione. I've got a bloody thick head. But...that's me. It's hard to change seventeen years of habit."

Hermione smiled. "It's hard to change seventeen years of being a know-it-all."

Ron smiled back. "Harry's right. We need to grow up. He needs us. Both of us."

"That's very...mature of you to say, Ron."

Ron stood up from his chair and headed towards the stairs. "It's been known to happen."

As he disappeared up the steps, Pandora rose from her spot on the floor, glanced from Hermione to the spot Ron had just vacated, and headed up the stairs towards her dormitory. As she rested upon her bed and closed her eyes, vivid images soon flooded her mind and her restless sleep was filled with flashes of people around her fighting, screaming and running towards her with bruises and blood covering their face. She covered her face so the images could no longer haunt her and opened her eyes to find a kind, young face smiling up at her, laughing one moment and crying the next. Pandora suddenly leaped upright in her bed and looked wildly around her in the dark until her eyes focused on a small figure sitting upright as well, a wild mess of hair surrounding a pair of chocolate brown eyes which were focused sharply on her own.

* * *

**Oh my goddddddd over 4000 words. Long chappy. I tell ya, very few will be this long, but I hope I didn't bore ya! Thank you so much for the reviews, even though there aren't very many, they make me smile =)**


	4. More of the former, less of the latter

**Helloooo again! I can't believe how many hits I have! I'm especially surprised that people like it so far! Glad I'm not disappointing anyone yet =) I'm not exceedingly happy with this chapter, but its more of a filler than anything else really. I know how this story is going to move along and how its going to end, I just find the in between parts a little harder. This chappy is more to give you an idea of what Pandora is like and how she effects others, but soon enough I will peel off the layers of her character! Enjoy!**

They danced, flickered, and whipped about without a care in the world. No one to tell them where to go, or what to do, or how to do it. Their actions and soothing warmth giving comfort to those who surround them. They ought to consider themselves lucky, to be so appreciated by many; so dangerously enchanting, one might consider just falling into them.

The flames within the fireplace danced in Pandora's eyes, darkness surrounding nearly every inch of the Gryffindor common room while the fire played across her stricken face. The all too familiar horrific nightmare and those witness to it had forced her to where she now sat, attempting to lose herself in the contained fire storm. The only problem was the all too familiar horrific nightmare was still fresh beneath her eyelids. She was used to the sleepless nights; classes in four hours would be no harder or easier than it had been the day previous. The hours spent in front of the fire melted erratically and soon enough students began filtering down the steps and towards the Great Hall. One particular student paused just as she passed the couch vacated by Pandora and turned to face her, biting her bottom lip in anticipation.

"Pandora? Are you alright?"

Pandora remained sitting stick still, her shoulders squared. Hermione took one more brave step towards her, fidgeting with her hands.

"You...you looked really shaken up, I-"

Hermione jumped as Pandora stood abruptly, standing half a foot taller, a fierce expression masking her flame-illuminated face.

"The last thing I need from anyone is pity, especially at the cause of a bloody dream." Her voice was cold and harsh, harmonizing with her face. "I would encourage you to keep out of other's business, if you know what is good for you."

Pandora swept past Hermione as she made her way towards the portrait hole but Hermione stood her ground and caught up with the witch, stepping in front of her.

"If you know what is good for you, you would not push those away who wish to help-"

Pandora tilted her head downwards, accentuating the difference in height, and the look upon her face caused Hermione to withdraw slightly.

"I do not wish for help. No one has helped me in the past and no one needs to. Now get. Out. Of. My. Way."

Pandora bit the last five words of her sentence with pure venom and pushed past Hermione once more. She glanced around the common room filling with curious students with a look of dismay and suddenly turned on her heel and exited the room.

Pandora trudged along the corridors at a quick rate, the sour expression never leaving her face. How dare that skinny girl make her out to be a weakling, like...like an ordinary human who needed to talk. It was foolish, she knew, to share anything. It only caused pain in the end. Whether it is emotional or physical, the pain felt similar however it ended up. That was what a mind was to be used for: holding information and emotions. The ones who needed to express such things were weak of the mind and it was wise to remain unconnected with those people.

Her feet took her to a dark, lonely corridor filled with ancient armour pieces and tapestries covered in cobwebs and dust. She aimlessly weaved in and out of the crumbling columns, kicking around bits of broken stone and odds and ends lying around the cold floor. Her hand wandered to an odd bit of tapestry when the slightly familiar dinging sound was heard around the hall as it echoed through the castle. She sighed heavily and decided to find her way towards the Transfiguration classroom. Pandora took her seat near the rear of the room while the last ding sounded and immediately placed her text book on her desk along with her quill and parchment. The spell McGonagall had taught today Pandora found slightly difficult and only managed to gouge halfway through the somewhat large piece of stone given to each student.

Pandora found Potions class to be no easier but the Veritaserum she concocted, however long it took, came out exactly as intended and received one of the top marks in the class for her potion. As she accepted that fact with a blank expression she noticed the odd looks directed at her by the Gryffindors of the class but chose to ignore them and packed her supplies with a quiet dignity. She made her way to Herbology, hopeful for the useless prats in the class before hers so she would not be forced to vacate the stuffy room seven floors above her head undoubtedly occupied by a certain intellectual. She allowed a satisfied sigh to escape her lips as she filed through the clear door and down the isle of what looked like tiny trees rooted in small pots. The lesson required everyone to study the irregular movements of the small branches and relate said movements with human emotions. This complicated plant, the Willow Hominis, was said to be extremely rare and temperamental.

As Pandora slowly made her way back towards the Gryffindor tower, she passed two very large, ancient doors and noticed the large room on the other side was filled with what looked like hundreds of books. Pandora wandered in rather timidly and soon resumed her brisk pace towards a table on the other side of the room near large windows and set her things down on the surface. Her eyes grazed over the towering rows of knowledge and began browsing curiously through the shelves, picking out random books with intriguing titles and read through each of them, absorbing the magical information. She sighed as she looked up towards the clock situated near the front of the library and concluded that lunch had started nearly twenty minutes ago. Her stomach growled in protest at the thought of making her way to the common room to gather supplies and books needed for her classes after the lunch break. She returned the books she had borrowed and promptly made her way towards the tower only to be stopped, after taking barely thirty steps, by a teenage boy with jet black hair. Pandora looked down upon him slightly, a dangerous look glinting in her eye.

"Must you walk the same path as I? There is, after all, room for several hundred students in this hall." Pandora coolly spoke first and noted a mirroring dangerous glint appearing in Harry's own eyes.

"Heard your morning rant earlier. You stay away from my friends, right? Hermione didn't do a thing to you."

Pandora quirked an eyebrow at the fierce tone edging in his voice.

"Tell them to stay away from me."

Pandora brushed past a fuming Harry and continued on her route to the common room, shaking her head at how close she had come to admiring this young man and his nosey companions' nerve. The thought quickly left her mind as she entered the seemingly empty common room and stiffly plopped herself down onto a chair. As she felt her body begin to relax, she heard quiet footsteps which began to sound like they were descending the stone staircase. Hushed but intense voices followed this sound.

"I know! I mean, I can't believe someone would just go off like that, especially to Hermione Granger! That girl must really have something up her arse!"

The other girlish voice giggled shamelessly and replied in a gossipy tone.

"Too right, but you heard what that talking hat said about her! 'She would do well in Slytherin'? What sort of bizarre traits must this person have to have been able to be accepted in both Gryffindor and Slytherin?"

The only sound for mere moments was the descending footsteps.

"Hang on, isn't that what happened to Harry? I could've sworn the hat mentioned Slytherin..."

"Whatever the hat said, Harry has never shown any real Slytherin traits and this...this Pandora-"

"Yes?"

The two girls nearly fell down the final few steps as they took note of Pandora sitting rather innocently in the chair situated just beside the staircase. Pandora raised an eyebrow at the two, one with long, blonde hair sporting a skirt shorter than allowed, and the other with long dark hair, clutching at a pair of books. The blonde one recovered quickly.

"You...you show un-Gryffindor-like behaviour!"

Pandora quirked her head to one side inquisitively and grinned inwardly as the two girls fidgeted nervously under her intense stare.

"And what would a typical Gryffindor behave like?"

The two glanced at each other and the dark haired girl nudged her friend with her elbow.

"You...you've got this, Lav."

Lavender's lips thinned noticeably and she smiled grimly at her companion.

"Well, thank you, Parvati." She muttered. Pandora's gaze never wavered on the two. "Well...a Gryffindor must be brave, loyal, and chivalrous, of which you are none." Lavender inhaled deeply and squared her shoulders. "You should have been sorted into Slytherin." Lavender nodded curtly and swiftly made her way through the common and out the portrait hole, Parvati following closely at her heels.

Pandora watched the girls exit the room and couldn't help the conflicting feelings of anger and confusion settle in her chest. She shook her head and headed up to her dormitories and deposited her books beside her bed and picked up the two needed for her next classes in one swift motion. She pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation as she descended the stairs and paced out the common room into the empty corridor. Pandora flew down the flights of moving staircases and stone steps until she found herself walking through the dark and grimy dungeons. A smooth, deep voice caught her attention and she turned sharply, nearly running into none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Quite a dangerous task this is; wandering the dungeons alone."

Pandora eyed Draco levelly and his hot breath washing over her face left no impression on her. Pandora decided to get right to the point of her travels in the dungeons.

"Why was I not sorted into Slytherin?"

Draco blinked and raised his eyebrows at Pandora's blunt question but decided to lean his shoulder against the cold wall as he crossed his arms, his brows furrowed in thought.

"Well...Slytherin's are cunning, sly, and extremely ambitious. Not to mention they depend solely on themselves. That is just the general population. So...can you associate yourself with any of those traits?"

Pandora remained where she was and pondered how to answer the question without giving her own personality away to a stranger, but concluded that she needed to answer honestly.

"I...wouldn't say that I am sly. But...I can relate to the rest."

Draco raised an eyebrow and threw out his second question.

"Would you say you are exceedingly brave and polite?"

Pandora let out a humourless chuckle and rubbed her eyes before eyeing Draco once more.

"I'm more of the former and less of the latter."

Draco nodded his head in understanding and asked the final question he knew would hammer the nail into the coffin of this topic.

"Are you Pureblood?"

Pandora's expression flashed in confusing and Draco grinned at her impure ignorance.

"I'll take that as a no." Draco became mildly interested in his fingernails as he spoke. "Being a Pureblood is basically the entrance requirements for becoming a Slytherin." He noted Pandora's furrowed eyebrows at the second mention of the word 'Pureblood' and decided he need to elaborate. "The status of Purebloods means the line of witch and wizard blood in a family has never been tainted by muggle blood-those with no magic." Draco added hastily, noting Pandora's confused expression once more. "I believe it is safe to assume that you are a...Mudblood." The sneer spreading on Draco's mirrored the one on Pandora's.

"That does not sound like a proper name for what I am." Pandora's voice was suddenly harsh.

"You're right. More intelligent about our world than you let on. The proper term is Muggle-born, but to Purebloods, your blood is considered tainted. Impure."

Pandora raised an eyebrow at the sneering Slytherin and spoke in a cool voice.

"Seems silly, don't you think? Judging someone immediately because of something you cannot see." Pandora walked past Draco swiftly and without looking back, she added. "You seemed quite fond of me before we came to this conclusion."

Draco remained leaned against the wall, taking in Pandora's words and flipping them over constantly inside his head, desperate for comprehension.

Pandora spent the entire Defence against the Dark Arts class working on her Disillusionment Charm until finally, with a satisfied nod, she managed the spell herself without the help of her fellow students, who seemed quite happy not to be involved. Harry had eyed her coldly throughout the entire lesson his red haired friend became close to sulking and chose to ignore everyone. Charms class was no better while Pandora studied and noted the specifics of the Patronus Charm, choosing to ignore completely the angered looks and hushed murmurs directed toward her. As she nearly rushed towards the common room, an all too familiar voice interrupted her deep thought and hurried steps.

"Ms. Witte. Follow me please."

Pandora sighed internally as McGonagall's voice rang through the hall, her retreating steps following as if an afterthought. She followed the Professor towards the round office once more and was ordered to stop abruptly in the middle of the room. McGonagall ruffled through random pieces of parchment set all over the large desk and soon her piercing gaze settled on Pandora.

"I apologize for not meeting with you yesterday. First day of classes became quite hectic for...well, for all Professors and especially me. Now, for the remainder of this term, or at least until you are able to accomplish this task on your own, I will be teaching you how to Apparate. Now, before you ask, I will explain to you what this means. It is a magical way of transporting from one place to another. You simply disappear on the spot and reappear in your desired location. The three things you must remember are: Destination, Determination, and Deliberation. These three words will safely help you arrive in any destination."

Pandora spent the next forty minutes spinning around in one required spot and McGonagall decided to let her off for the day and instructed Pandora to meet her in this office every other day once her Charms class was finished.

Hermione was one of the last to enter the common room from the feast and gestured Harry and Ron to go off to their dorms, she would be fine. She sighed as she turned her gaze from the staircase to the couch in front of the fireplace knowingly and walked to illuminating flames. A small smile curved at her lips at the sight of Pandora sleeping rather soundly on the slightly undersized couch. She gently placed a plate overflowing with food from the feast on the small table in front of the couch and rose to her full height.

"Must remember to eat, Pandora. You'll only become more ill-tempered than you already are."

Hermione ascended the stairs, completely unaware that the next morning would find the plate she had left completely empty along with the couch by the fire.

**Well here it is! Slightly boring, maybe, but it will keep getting better, at least this is how I see it. Even one more review will make my day! Expect an update around Monday!**


	5. Bits of Voldemort all over the place

**o.O Sorrrrry this took so long! I spent 3 weeks away from the internet and computers altogether at one time and since then, if I haven't been racing or training, I've been out of the house doing chores and such...so I'm sorry x 1867908793.2! Hope you can forgive me! I have a clear vision for the next two chapters so I will hopefully update quickly!**

The morning sun reflected dimly across the still lake, the cool September morning misting Pandora's even breath. She enjoyed the timeless feeling of early morning, the endless quiet and the knowledge that no one would disturb her rare peace for hours. Pandora sat upon a cold stone edging the sun-illuminated lake and absent-mindedly dragged the bottom of her bare foot along the surface of the water, sending erratic ripples along the undisturbed pool. The inconsistent night of sleep she had endured sent her away from the common room at an early hour, though she remained thankful that no one had been witness to the disconcerting thrashing and screaming her nights usually encountered.

The one thing that undoubtedly boggled Pandora's mind was the plate full of food presumably from the feast the night before, evidently charmed to sustain the heat. She knew she was just familiar enough with the school to assume the culprit of this gesture was Hermione Granger, but a strong lesson she had learned for herself was never to take action without facts. And Pandora was surely not interested enough in the situation to gather facts and inquire about the plate, so she accepted the meal blindly and consumed the whole of it in quite an unladylike manner.

Pandora sighed as she noted the faint glow surrounding certain windows of the large castle and decided to gather her supplies and replace her shoe before returning to the ancient building. She felt every eye on her as she entered the Great Hall and in turn glared at each student she passed on her way towards her seat. She resumed her stiff posture on the bench and half-heartedly picked at the food covering the long table.

Ron nearly stumbled his way down the corridor towards the Great Hall, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He had woken up later than intended and rushed to get dressed and gather his things so he would have time to eat enough breakfast to get through to lunch. Ron lazily wrapped the tie enclosed in his hand around his neck and hastily fastened the remaining buttons on his crinkled shirt only to find the buttons failed to match up with the correct holes. He sat down heavily in his spot on the bench and began shovelling food frantically into his plate. His fork clinging to a scrappy pile of eggs stopped abruptly as he noticed Pandora sitting across the table and to his right, her back stick straight and her piercing eyes gazing uninterestedly into her plate. He wondered briefly if she ever ate anything at all; he never recalled seeing her do anything more with her food than play with it idly. In the short break he took from cramming food into his mouth, he noticed the cold looks Pandora received from others situated at the table. He recalled hearing about how she had gone off to Hermione and now everyone in Gryffindor seemed to loathe the new student. Ron jumped suddenly as Pandora's gaze settled on him, causing the cooling eggs dangling off of his fork to fall back onto his plate. Her sharp eyes seemed to bore a hole right through Ron and he decided to return his attention to his breakfast.

Transfiguration and Herbology had passed by quite quickly for Pandora, though Potions had seemed to wear on. The entire class was spent reading a whole chapter and taking notes under the scrutinizing eye of Esson; that bloke never seemed to blink. Pandora wandered rather aimlessly towards the Great Hall, rather unenthusiastic about entering a large room filled with glaring eyes. She walked through the large doors donning a mask of bored confidence and took her seat, ignoring the inevitable looks she received, and assumed her stiff position while picking subconsciously at the plates stuffed with food in front of her. Her peripheral vision allowed her to notice the looks of disdain that soon trickled into other tables. Even certain Slytherin's had found the time to sneer at her, although she had guessed on a different reason for that. In Pandora's quick sweep across the tables dotted with angry students, she noticed only one who spared her a look of scorn: one familiar redhead who was unsubtly averting her gaze while attempting to cram more food into his mouth than was humanly possible.

Pandora's final two classes had proven to be somewhat more enjoyable than the morning's classes and she walked away from each learning a new spell and found herself becoming stronger in magic. She decided to wander outside after her final class was finished and weaved in and out of the growing shadows created by the looming towers of the castle and tall trunks of the trees in the Forbidden Forest. Pandora found the spot near the lake she had occupied that very morning and decided to rest against the cold stone once more. She sighed; Pandora couldn't say she missed her old life. It wasn't much of a life to miss. But this new life wore heavily on her mind, and although the classes took her mind off of most troubles, the people she was constantly forced to be surrounded by did nothing to help her mood. She did not regret her uncontrolled release of fury on the school princess; Pandora thought it best that the poor girl not bask in her own tainted company. A rustling of the earth behind her unhinged her reflexes and Pandora's braced stance and raised fists brought out a dry chuckle from an elderly witch.

"My dear, we have much to teach you. If I were to be a Death Eater, you would have had your ears hexed off before you could form a fist."

Pandora hesitantly lowered her arms and relaxed her body as the familiar voice of McGonagall washed over her ears.

"I do hope you have not forgotten our lesson. Follow me."

The first week of schooling had gone by rather slowly and uneventfully for Pandora. She had completed all of her assignments without much difficulty and she found herself learning basic magic quickly. Although the looks of disdain she constantly received from nearly every student in the school began to feel all too familiar and she eventually accepted them as a normal occurrence. As she made her way down the corridor from breakfast, she nearly toppled over someone bent over on the ground. Sighing impatiently, Pandora turned on the figure only to look down at Ron, red in the face and surrounded by parchment and books.

"Although it is good to see you wanting to learn, I suggest rolling around in books in the privacy of your dormitories."

A mumbled apology was all Pandora heard from the disgruntled boy, but curiosity bested her at that moment.

"What _are _you doing?"

Ron huffed and looked up at Pandora while attempting to stack his text books and gather the unrolled parchment.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm late for class, I rushed, I dropped everything-"

Pandora leaned down slowly and eyed Ron oddly.

"It's Saturday, dear boy."

Ron raised an eyebrow at her, pausing in his scattered attempts at cleaning his mess.

"Don't take the Mickey outta me today, I have a lot-"

"Oi, Ron, finally decided to take school seriously, eh? Only took you 7 years..."

Ron glared as Seamus walked casually down the corridor, chuckling softly. Pandora rolled her eyes and reached for the mess of parchment and began neatly rolling it back into place.

"Take this as repayment for sparing me a look of death."

Ron took the roll of parchment cautiously, his eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion, and blinked once he looked up to find Pandora nowhere in sight.

Pandora continued on her way to the common room uninterrupted and settled into the couch, reading from the DADA spell book. She found reading casually through her texts instead of them being forced down her throat by professors allowed the knowledge she obtained to sink in better, more clearly. She scanned over facts about beasts that did their masters bidding and the ritual one goes through to obtain that power, spells and curses which attacked specific parts of the human body, and even variations of the Imperius curse that changed ones personality severely. Her eyes stopped midway through a sentence when she heard the portrait hole creak open, though her eyes never left the page.

"How is your...magic doing?"

Pandora instantly recognized the gentle voice and returned to her reading, pausing only when she felt the couch sink ever slightly from the small weight of Hermione.

"Do you need any more-"

"If I had needed any more help, I would have asked."

Hermione sighed and leaned towards the fire before glancing back up at Pandora, her face still hidden by the book.

"I don't think you would." Pandora peeked from behind the obstruction to direct a glare at the woman seated opposite her. "Look, if you would just show me something, I will leave you alone, all right? I won't force you to learn if you-"

"Reducto."

The flashing spell flew inches past Hermione's head and hit a small bit of tapestry behind her, effectively reducing it to nearly nothing. Hermione glanced at the slight wreckage Pandora created and widened her eyes slightly before nodding somewhat approvingly and heading up the stairs to the dormitories.

"Horcruxes? Harry, are you are sure there are more?"

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows slightly and sighed heavily as Harry nodded.

"Yes. Voldemort split his soul seven ways when he killed, and placed each piece into an object that had meant something to him during his childhood. We've only destroyed two."

Ron turned his gaze away from Harry and looked over the dark lake.

"So...there're bits of Voldemort all over the place, then?"

Harry sighed and shook his head in amusement.

"Yeah, something like that."

"So what were the first two?"

Harry glanced in Hermione's direction briefly before returning his gaze to the lake.

"Apparently...the diary was the first one. Dumbledore already destroyed a ring. I dunno how, I only know it ruined his hand."

"So...how did you destroy the diary?"

"I stabbed it. With the basilisk fang. It was like it bled ink. I don't think they all do that."

Hermione bit her bottom lip in thought.

"The venom...the strong poison from that venom must have destroyed the bit of soul living in the diary...and the ring...Dumbledore must have taken that to a whole new level..."

Harry chuckled humourlessly.

"Yeah, that sounds like him."

Hermione sighed heavily as she looked out to the horizon.

"Have you any idea what the other five are?"

Harry furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

"That fake locket I-we found in the cave. I mean, R.A.B. has it somewhere, right? Assuming he hasn't already destroyed it. And...there was this memory Dumbledore showed me...a woman's memory with Voldemort. He killed her and took the locket and...a goblet with the Hufflepuff emblem on it."

Harry racked his brain for more answers but found none.

"That's all I know...we'll have to look for the other three on our own...somehow."

Pandora sat alone in the common room late at night, idly practicing simple spells and enchantments while glancing through spell books and notes. She had lasted amongst these people for a month now, spending the last weekend of September reviewing what she learned in desolate silence. Others' treatment towards her had slightly worsened during this time, varying from words of insult to attempting embarrassing pranks. Pandora quickly caught on to those who were behind these hoaxes and may or may not have offered a silent threat or two.

The last few weeks also found her excelling in Apparition and, strangely enough, Potions. She received one of the top marks with Esson, third only to Hermione and Draco, and impressed most students, although none would admit to it. Oddly enough, the class Pandora struggled with the most was Defence Against the Dark Arts. And the charm she remained unable to accomplish, the Patronus.

She sighed and closed her book gently and ambled over towards the window of the great tower. The days were growing shorter, the air becoming crisper, and yet the days moved by like molasses in winter. She needed to find a way to help the days pass at more of a leisurely pace before the people and the lessons made her mental.

**So that's that! I know its not real exciting, but everything leads up to whats going to happen and its just getting good now =) If you see anything that can be improved or have ideas, lemmi know!**


	6. A fool who refuses to use his ears

**I know it's been over a week since I last updated BUT I finally have Word on my own laptop! So does everyone know what that means? Faster updates! Yay! So, like I said, things start getting more interesting as you will hopefully see here. I thank everyone who has reviewed and added me to their Alerts and Favourites, every single time I get an email from FanFiction it makes my day! Hope I don't disappoint you!**

The air began to feel stiffer by the day in Hogwarts School as some unknown tension built up in its students. This tension was not due to homework nor the inevitable war looming over their heads, but something unseen...something no one could pin point. Pandora felt this odd energy ooze from the people around her as the days wore on and couldn't help but feel something familiar, like a cloud of dread that would change Hogwarts, perhaps forever.

No one dared voice this particular feeling in hopes it would pass by and onto another building or even another country. It was nearly two weeks until Halloween and no festivities had been planned and no celebrations had been prepared for that day, though it seemed the last thing on everyone's mind. Pandora watched as students trickled into the Great Hall at a reasonably steady pace, as she was the first one to enter for breakfast. They lazily chatted amongst themselves as each took their seat and picked at the food set in front of them. Pandora shook her head in amusement as Ron all but ran to his seat and shovelled food hungrily into his plate. Halfway through heaving a forkful of hash browns into his mouth, his gaze settled on Pandora and her empty plate as she eyed the food placed in front of her in an almost disgusted way. Ron settled his fork back into his plate and took a deep breath. "You ever eat anything?"

Pandora started slightly as the loudest voice in the hall at the moment echoed mockingly around the large room and she turned her head slightly to glare at Ron. Raising an eyebrow, she grabbed at a sausage from a platter in front of her with her bare hand and took a sizeable bite out of its end and promptly placed it onto her own plate. Ron chuckled lightly and returned to his breakfast in time for Harry and Hermione to join him at the table.

Pandora had come out of her morning classes learning how to successfully transfigure a tortoise into a small desk, how to concoct a more serious form of the Draft of the Living Dead, and how to use a rather large, purple plant to treat what were considered to be permanent scars. Heading towards the Great Hall, she caught a snippet of a conversation between two people who sounded like Ron and Hermione.

"- an idiot, Hermione!"

"Ron, you need to learn one day that people don't see you as a silly, little boy anymore!"

The soft clicking sound of dress shoes approached Pandora and a flustered looking Hermione brushed past, clearly distracted. Around the corner, Ron stood motionless, staring into the space Hermione had previously vacated.

:::

After learning how to defeat a Vampire, charm a room to clean itself, and Apparate near perfect, Pandora trudged towards the Great Hall for a Friday night feast the following week. She noted Ron idly talking to Hermione seated beside him and allowed a grin to tug at the corners of her lips; some people could never seem to stay apart from each other for very long, despite what happened between them. Pandora took her usual seat and managed to scoop some potatoes and peas onto her plate, although she resumed picking uninterestedly at them until nearly everyone in the Hall had left for their dormitories. Draco was one of the few who remained in his seat, glancing up at Pandora every now and then but refusing to meet her eye. After mere moments, she stood to leave, never looking back at the slightly pained expression flashing over the Slytherin's face.

Familiar voices flooded her ears as she approached the entrance to Gryffindor Tower.

"Honestly Ron, I really think it's beginning to look too obvious that I am helping you with your homework! You are just going to have to learn to do this yourself."

Ron huffed impatiently and followed Hermione closely as she bustled around the fire lit common room.

"Come on, Hermione, we all know how this is going to work. You'll stand your ground until I bother you enough and you'll give in and help me, like always."

Ron's confident grin disappeared once Hermione rounded on him, her features hardened by his statement. She repeatedly poked her finger into his chest, emphasizing each word with a sharp jab.

"Well, Ronald Bilius Weasley, you best get used to change this year, because this little fantasy process you think you have got all figured out ends now!"

With a final poke, Hermione turned on her heel and bounded up the steps towards her dormitory, leaving a stunned Ron in her wake. The entire room seemed heavy with silence as Ron shuffled his feet along the carpeted floor. As he turned slowly towards the fireplace, his eye caught Pandora walking through the short alley in the portrait hole, her stark green eyes narrowing, bearing an odd look directed at Ron, and she made her way to the couch in front of the fire. Ron sighed heavily as the room began to fill with its usual noise and sat at the opposite end of the couch, earning him a pointed glare from the female sharing the seat.

"What?" Ron asked rather tiredly. Pandora's glare never wavered and neither did her lips. "I'm...I'm not moving..."

"You don't sound convinced."

Ron blinked; rare was the time when her voice didn't seem to drag along his skin painfully. She sounded nearly conversational now.

"I...wha-...what are you looking at?"

His question came out shakier than he had intended. Pandora returned her gaze to the fire.

"A fool who refuses to expand his knowledge."

Ron's face flared in anger.

"Is that supposed to be a dig at me?"

His anger fuelled his now strong voice, although his change in tone seemed to have no effect on Pandora.

"Listen more carefully to my statement. I'm sure you'll answer your own question."

The bored tone dripping from Pandora's words aggravated Ron more.

"I'm not a bloody idiot, Pandora!"

"Hmm...see, I don't think you listened to well. I suppose I think I am looking at a fool who refuses to use his ears."

The room, once again, fell into a painful silence. Ron stood up fiercely and pointed a long finger at the witch who, had no one heard their conversation, seemed to not to be involved at all.

"I may be a lot of things, Pandora, but I'm not a fool! I know everyone thinks I'm an idiot, but every time I try to prove them wrong, I just end up proving them right-"

"Why do you constantly make others do your thinking for you?"

Pandora's voice appeared to be very quiet, yet it commanded the attention of a deflated Ron.

"I'm...I procrastinate..."

Pandora shook her head.

"No...you already answered that question. You're just rambling now, aren't you? Gotten yourself all flustered and now you fail to make a compelling argument anymore."

Pandora's gaze raised to Ron's, her face smooth and stony. Ron's face seemed red as the maroon carpeting and he finally exploded.

"You think you're so intelligent, don't you? You can just glare at everyone and snap at anyone you like, right? That's not how it bloody works in this house! We all treat each other with respect! And just because no one ever gets in your way or bothers you does not mean they respect you! They bloody fear you! How does it feel, eh? To know that no one wants to be near the foulness that follows you ever second of the day! Yeah, you're intelligent! Maybe I'm not the smartest bloke in the entire world, but i know for a damn fact that I have more than you ever will, and that's damn fine with me!"

His chest heaved slightly once he finished, his steely blue eyes intent on Pandora's poisonous green ones. A flicker of fear jolted through him as he realized what he just said; he really did let himself get flustered and ramble. Pandora's unsettling blank stare unnerved Ron and he nearly jumped out of his skin when she suddenly rose to her full height and looked him straight in the eye, a faint grin softening her features.

"Took you long enough."

Her usual tone carried a string of amusement. Ron stared, bewildered, as she slithered by him and up the stairs to her dormitories.

:::

Ron woke the next morning with many unanswered questions still floating in his mind from the day before. He rubbed his eyes with the palm of his hands as he lay in his four-poster bed. What had the bloody girl meant by, 'took you long enough'? Why was she smiling at him after his temper once again got the best of him? And why couldn't he get her out of his bloody thoughts? This had to be a case of unhealthy obsession. She was simply a confusing witch, completely different from anyone else he'd ever met, and became an enigma. Enigmas were supposed to be interesting. He just needed to figure this particular one out before it drove him mad.

A few hours and a couple unanswered questions later, Ron was idly poking at a piece of ham on his plate, ignoring the odd looks he received. He jumped suddenly at Harry's hand draping over his shoulder and flinched when his sudden movement caused his fork to shriek across the plate. Harry chuckled as he joined Ron at the table.

"What's on your mind lately, mate? There's been something...off about you this week."

Ron shook his head absently and returned to his holey ham.

"Wouldn't have anything to do with..." Ron looked up and caught Harry's subtle glance in Pandora's direction. "...would it?"

Ron laughed somewhat nervously and stabbed at his ham steak with finality.

"Bloody confusing witch...why does she...ahh..." Ron viciously cut through the pork and shoved nearly half of it in his mouth. "I mea', why can' she 'usht shpi' i' ou' 'likh e'ery 'un elsh?"

Harry shook his head in amusement.

"You wanna try that again?"

Ron huffed and chewed the rest of ham.

"I mean, she beats around the bush with what she says...never outright tells me anything..."

"So, you talk to her often?"

Ron glanced up at Harry and half heartedly shrugged.

"Not particularly. Last night was the most I ever talked to her...and it wasn't exactly the most pleasant conversation..."

Harry scooped some chips and steamed vegetables onto his plate and glanced in Pandora's direction again, raising an eyebrow at her empty plate and blank stare.

"I don't imagine many conversations with her being pleasant."

Ron's head shot up at Harry's sentence and his eyebrows met in anger.

"Don't insult her like that! You'd be surprised at how kind she can be!"

Harry nearly choked on his pumpkin juice and looked over at his best mate incredulously.

"You-you were just bloody mouthing her off-"

"Yeah, well...I know her a bit better than you...just...just don't talk about someone you don't know like that..."

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in slight exasperation and returned to his meal.

"You sure seem protective of her. I would have thought after what she did to Hermione you'd be throwing around threats left, right and center."

Ron mumbled something indistinctive and set his fork down before rising to his feet just as Hermione arrived.

"So sorry I'm late. Lost track of time in the..." Hermione furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as Ron left the table in quite a state. "Was it something I said?"

:::

Pandora leaned against the wall just outside of the DADA classroom. She became quickly bored with the food and company in the Great Hall and decided to arrive early and flip through her text book until the faint sound of crowds of footsteps echoed the large corridor. She heard a clicking sound erupt from the door she was leaning beside and looked around cautiously before opening the door slowly, the creaking hinges filling the silence in the empty room. Pandora started when she heard another door click closed and looked up from her place in the doorway to see her DADA teacher, Professor Bates, a dark slender hand clutching at her chest.

"Goodness, Pandora, you gave me a right scare! You're quite early..."

Pandora shrugged as Anastasia lumbered down the steps from her small office towards the back of the classroom. She donned deep purple robes draped with a black shawl covering her long braided hair.

"Not much to do near the end of lunch break. Hope you don't mind."

Anastasia smiled warmly and shook her head while linking her arm with Pandora's and walking back up the small alley between the tables. Pandora stiffened noticeably but never cut off the surprising bit of human interaction she received.

"Of course not! You know that you are always welcome in my classroom." She guided Pandora to her work desk and leaned against it casually while she eyed the young witch in front of her levelly. "Filius tells me that you are having trouble with a particular charm."

Pandora's eyebrows met in anger at this; how dare people discuss her behind her back? Especially her elders.

"Is that right? And what is that?"

Anastasia completely ignored Pandora's scathing look and cold tone and continued in her usual calm manner.

"Your Patronus Charm. You are unable to conjure one, am I correct?"

Pandora shifted her weight on the balls of feet rather uncomfortably under her professor's intense stare and instantly felt exposed; it was a feeling she loathed deeply and wanted very much to rid herself of it.

"It is a complicated charm. I've been learning about magic for the past month and a half while everyone else in my year has been learning it for six years. I'd like to believe I'm doing rather well."

Pandora struggled to keep her calm as she spoke, but Anastasia's calm features never wavered and she continued.

"The Patronus is a complicated spell. But I've seen you work. You are quite powerful for your level of training. You are capable of handling a charm like that. You know what is required of the caster of a Patronus, I am sure."

Anastasia eyed Pandora expectantly, her arms folded across her chest.

"A happy memory. A powerful...memory."

Pandora's strong eyes never left Anastasia's intense ones as she spoke, the feeling of being rudely exposed never wavering.

"That is correct. You must have a happy memory of some sort? Any thought that you find gets you through the day?"

Pandora opened her mouth to answer but was cut off as students burst through the door in quite a barbaric manner. Mentally thanking Father Time for her luck, Pandora nodded her head curtly at her teacher and headed back to her usual spot in the classroom...beside the ginger. As she set her required supplies upon her desk, she noted Ron repeatedly opening and closing his mouth, somewhat resembling a fish, and the occasional nervous glance in her direction. As the lesson started, he began scratching idly on a spare bit of parchment with a fixed gaze. The moment Pandora returned her attention to the front of the classroom, she noticed some ink had spilled onto her own parchment. Silently cursing, she moved to clean up the small mess only to realize that the supposed spilled ink was a message. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she carefully read the scratchy writing.

_What exactly did you mean by, "took you long enough"?_

Pandora rolled her eyes and immediately looked to her left at Ron sitting nonchalantly in his seat, seemingly interested in the current lesson. Her glare eventually broke him down and he looked at her long enough to mouth, 'write back' and point at the parchment with his writing. Pandora sighed impatiently and scribbled hurriedly,

_I meant it took you a substantial amount of time._

Pandora blinked as her writing disappeared and glanced over on Ron's desk to see her own writing reappearing on his parchment. Ron grinned as she stared bewildered at this new wonder and read her reply, a frown replacing his amusement. He scribbled something on his parchment and returned his attention back to the lesson once more. Pandora sighed again and read his reply.

_You know what I mean. Quit beating around the bush with me._

Pandora blinked at the blunt frustration clearly shown in his words and rubbed her forehead in exasperation.

_This is childish. Meet me just inside the courtyard after classes._

Ron heaved a long breath as he read the spidery scrawl and nodded sharply, his gaze returning to the professor.

:::

Pandora leaned against one of the stone columns surrounding the courtyard, observing everything from the occasional student who passed by to the details of the castle. It really was an enchanting place, if you ignore the fact the building was surrounded by spells. The workmanship and creativity it must have taken to create the statues and columns and towers. This entire place seems to defy gravity and it secretly fascinated Pandora. Her thoughts were interrupted by the clipping sound of Hogwarts dress shoes pounding on the cement. Pandora walked into the open corridor and spotted a flash of undeniable red hair attached to a red, wheezing face.

"S-sorry I'm late...got kept in after class...f-for-"

Pandora waved her hand dismissively and sauntered over towards the opposite wall of the open corridor while Ron caught his breath. The colour in his face seemed to have calmed down and he looked at Pandora expectantly.

"Well?"

Pandora's face split into a grin that didn't quite seem to touch her eyes and spoke as her gaze never lifted off of Ron's.

"You finally stood up for yourself. And quite effectively, I must say. Every point you made in your final argument, if it could be called that, was correct. And you meant it. Now, there's no need for you to blow your top every time you do it, but I respected your words. Use them more often instead of silly questions. No one wants to answer silly questions."

Ron blinked at Pandora's bluntness and opened his mouth to speak just as she nodded sharply and brushed past him at a determined pace.

:::

The next week and a half passed by rather slowly for Ron; he seemed to have gotten on more friendly terms with Pandora, but was not quite friendly enough for conversations. A question here, a greeting there, no more than a few words between the two, though he prided himself in being the only person in the school she no longer glared at. The Friday night before Halloween, Ron found himself alone in the common room her, lost in a book he had never heard; Merlin, she was worse than Hermione sometimes. Somehow, he had found a brave moment and approached her sitting in a rather large chair, still stiff-backed and proper.

"What's that you're reading?"

Pandora peeked over the top of the book and raised it slightly as if he should understand the odd lettering scripted on the tattered cover. She shook her head at his confused expression and sighed.

"Don't you understand Latin?"

Ron chuckled softly.

"Only the spells we learn...I'm not exactly fluent."

Pandora raised an inquiring eyebrow and lowered her book.

"You mean...no one is required to study Latin? That's odd...I thought...I mean I was told that..." She shook her head and pointed to the cover again. "_Historia de Magica_...History of Magic. Found this is Latin...thought I would spruce up on that language a bit more. It's been awhile."

Ron nodded absently; this woman read a dead language? Fluently? She was becoming more and more strange the more he found out about her.

"That's...brilliant. I think only certain teachers here could say the same thing."

The corners of her lips curled up slightly and she closed the book completely.

"Think I'll turn in for the night."

Just as Pandora started the steps to her dormitories, Ron spoke so softly she barely heard.

"Goodnight, Pandora."

Ron took solace in the fact that his small sentence caused her to pause just brief enough to be acknowledged.

:::

Halloween was oddly quiet in comparison to the usual goings on that took place within the castle. The usual feast was as grand as always and ghosts bobbed in and out of tables, talking amongst themselves and starting heated conversations with certain students. Pandora was silently amazed by the simple charmed decorations and enchanted ceiling, but her reaction to the food was no different than it always was; it was not as if she didn't enjoy the meals, but she'd much rather eating on her own time.

Throughout the conversations a shoving of food down throats, there seemed to be something unexplainable hanging over everyone's head like a heavy fog. The moment Pandora had noticed this, the great doors swung open with force and in swooped nearly forty, tall, and black cloaked witches and wizards with frightening masks and wands raised in anger. The entire hall deafened with silence at this sight and immediately the professors rose their wands in defence, but instead found themselves instantly frozen in place and unable to move any part of their body save their eyes. This curse spread through to every student in the Great Hall. Pandora felt herself stiffen and glared fiercely at the cloaked cowards as one of them began to speak.

"Please, please! Don't get up for us; I insist you all sit down and...relax." This voice sounded smooth and cold and Pandora's glare intensified as half of the cloaked visitors removed their masks and looked around at the students in disgust. "Simple orders from Lord Voldemort himself. Keep an eye on all Mudblood's, Half-Blood`s, and Blood traitors alike. Now it seems you are all here...all accounted for. Don`t let us spoil your wonderful evening, please! Continue with the festivities."

The cold and humourless voice rang through everyone's ears like shards of ice and no one moved once released from their magical hold. Pandora's eye flickered across the frightful faces of the younger students and rested on the Trio's determined ones. It seemed the fog had rested on Hogwarts.

***Gasp* Oh what have I done? Guess you'll need to find out in the next chapter ;) BTW, its like, 1:30 am right now, so if there are any mistakes, I apologize!**


	7. It'll fix your nose

**Alright, so using my own laptop did not help me update faster. But...I've had some busy weeks. Still no excuse! This chapter is not quite as long as the past couple, but I kinda like it...moves things forward at least! Thank you everyone who has added my story to their favourites and subscriptions! It means so much to me!**

**Seeing as how I have not disclaimed in awhile...**

**Disclaimer: Let's face it; I'd be like the third richest person in the world if I owned this. I only own Pandora. (Sounds kinky...)**

The school had fallen into a deathly silence over the next couple of days. The occasional chatter rippled throughout the school, each student wondering whether they had dreamt what had happened Halloween night or if it was a cruel joke the teachers were playing on them. Pandora's first three classes on Monday felt stiff and unnatural, like the professors were expecting someone or something to pop out of a cupboard or closet at any moment, and lunch in the Great Hall was quiet. Black cloaked witches and wizards were seen wandering around the outside of the House tables, twirling wands rather lazily in their hands.

Pandora had finally made her way to her Defence Against the Dark Arts class with some questioning and mild threats of torture from Hogwarts' new inhabitants hindering her journey. She noticed a strange man seated at the front of the classroom as she entered, donning a dark cloak and odd tattoos surrounding the side of his face and one hand, which Pandora assumed must have covered half of his body. She cautiously took her usual seat at the back of the room and eyed this new addition carefully as other students began filtering in.

"Good afternoon. Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween." His raspy, humourless voice contrasted painfully with the words he spoke. "My name is Garrikus Larvil. I have been sent to keep an eye on all of you and make sure none of you break any of the new rules. Of course, I will not be wasting my time teaching you. Instead I will monitor your lessons with Bates."

Anastasia appeared from the shadows behind Garrikus, carrying a confident poise she knew she had to don for the sake of her students. Garrikus leaned stiffly against the back wall, presumably out of sight, but every student felt his icy gaze upon them. She began the lesson on Unicorn blood and the practical uses it provided to those close to death. Every student took reluctant notes as their professor unwillingly taught, as though she felt the tip of his wand at her back. By the end of their lesson, Larvil made his appearance once.

"Don't expect my visits to be sparse. This is how each and every lesson shall be until the Dark Lord is victorious, and so-" His sudden cut sentence and razor sharp gaze seemed to empty the room of oxygen. "It seems someone in this room mistakes my hearing to be flawed. The owners of those words will spare their professor pain if they stand forward and face their punishment."

Pandora glanced up the row of seats and tables at Hermione, subtly being held back by Harry and Ron. She sighed and stood straight up, looking the man square in the eye. The entire class looked up at her defiant stance and began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Silence! Come here." The crinkled man beckoned his finger harshly. Pandora stiffly made her way to the front of the classroom, ignoring the surprised looks she received from the trio. As she approached Larvil, she noticed everyone in the room had stiffened noticeably and assumed the spell used to still everyone in the Great Hall on Halloween had been cast in the very room. "Ah yes. You are the fresh Mudblood. Grew up sixteen years surrounded by filthy muggles." Pandora narrowed her eyes and stood her ground. "You must be used to muggle punishments, then." Pandora's expression never changed as her hands jerked together behind her back and were bound by some sort of invisible rope. She eyed him levelly as he slowly circled her stiff figure. "It won't take much to bring you down to a much preferred level."

Without notice, Larvil's rough fist connected with Pandora's stomach, causing her to gasp sharply before regaining her smooth composure and facing the Death Eater fearlessly. Sneering, he aimed for the small of her back, his face contorted with fierce concentration. Pandora gasped for air again and braced her weakening stance, before she ignored the pain and faced the man once more. No sooner had she looked Larvil in the eye again did he strike a powerful blow across her jaw, and she struggled to keep herself upright on both feet. Seconds later, she was finally brought down to her knees from a hit across her nose. Broken, bruised, and bleeding, Pandora was unable to rise. She felt energy in the room once again and realized the students must have been set free from their hold once the invisible ropes released their hold around her wrists.

"Lesson one." was all Larvil said as the class slowly left the room, not daring to speak. Anastasia had a tense hand clasped to her mouth and moved to help Pandora, but stopped in her tracks at a warning look from the witch in pain on the floor.

"P-Pandora? Bloody hell-"

"I strongly suggest you leave now."

Ron looked down slightly at Larvil, a dark look spreading his face.

"Unless you want me to show you how much pain you just put her through, I strongly suggest you let me help her out." Ron's voice was menacing.

"You will learn to pick your battles, boy-"

Pandora suddenly forced herself from the ground and gripped Ron's arm, dragging him out of the classroom door with her.

"I could have taken the bloody-"

"I did not go through that for nothing, Weasley."

Ron blinked at how strangled Pandora sounded.

"Why did you do that?"

Pandora remained hunched over in pain and grasped at her side with one hand while trying to stop the flow of blood from her nose with the other. She looked rather intimidating.

"Hermione is brilliant, but she isn't the toughest thing out there. I could take it. I know I could. And I know it would have killed you and Harry if that had happened to her. You care about her."

Pandora suddenly limped for the nearest girls lavatory but was stopped by Ron as he wrapped a brave arm around her waist and turned her toward the stairs.

"What on earth are you-? Let go of me!"

Pandora struggled against Ron's firm grip but her resistance proved futile in her state and she stopped fussing.

"Look, I'm not gonna leave you like this, so you may as well stop wiggling and let me fix you!"

Pandora glared up at Ron, craning her neck to fix him in her gaze.

"Could you possibly make that sound any more degrading?"

Ron grinned. "Probably."

His arm never left her waist as he helped her towards Gryffindor tower.

"All right you sit on the couch...stay there! I mean it, Pandora! I'll be right back."

Pandora slumped unwillingly into the couch and clutched at her side while Ron disappeared upstairs. She briefly wondered why he cared so much about helping her when the sound of footsteps thundering down the stairway interrupted her thoughts. He silently knelt on front of her with a small, bulging bag and began to unload it.

"What you got there?"

Ron grinned at the curious tone that carried through Pandora's voice as he took out a small jar, a porous cloth, and several bandages among other odds and ends and looked up at her face.

"Stuff."

Pandora rolled her eyes and hurriedly attempted to stem the flow of blood pouring from her nose once again, swaying slightly from the considerable amount lost. Ron's eyebrows suddenly rose in worry and he grabbed her knees to keep her from swaying from one side.

"You alright?"

Pandora glanced down at Ron's hands briefly before masking a miraculous look of composure despite her current state.

"M'fine."

Ron's face suddenly burned red and he removed his hands from her slim legs to grasp his wand.

"All right...this might twinge a bit, but...it'll fix your nose."

Pandora barked a humourless laugh.

"That bad, is it?" Asked Pandora as she noted the grimace flickering over Ron's face.

Ron took a deep breath as he pointed his wand directly at her angled nose.

"Episky."

A muted crack sounded from her nose and Pandora's face contorted in pain for mere moments before returned to the composed mask Ron was so used to. She looked at him expectantly after a few moments.

"How do I look?"

Ron looked over her face briefly before shaking his head and looked through the assortment of things he had laid out on the floor beside him.

"Err...alright, I'm just gonna wipe the blood off...off of your face so just...lean forward."

Pandora leaned towards Ron agonizingly slow, her sharp green eyes never leaving his soft blue ones, until her face was no more than five inches away from his. Ron gulped visibly and, with a shaky hand, moved the cloth across Pandora's smooth face, removing the blood drying around her straight nose, pale cheek and soft lips.

"You act as if you've never touched a woman before."

Ron dropped his hand and dully looked at the floor before glancing back up at Pandora`s blood-streaked face.

"Err...close your eyes."

Pandora did as she was told and patiently allowed Ron to sweep the cloth around her eyes and across her eyelids. She peeked out beneath her eyelashes once he stopped and found him glancing down her neck. Her reflexes took over when she felt the cloth graze her collar bone and grasped his wrist in a death grip. Ron eyed her oddly and slowly lowered his hand.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to...just need to wipe it all off..."

Pandora ran a hand across her neck and eyed the red smear staining it. She slid the cloth out of Ron's hand and wiped the mess off herself before chucking the now red cloth on the floor.

"Do your sides still hurt?" Pandora nodded once. "All right...just...stand up as much as you can." Pandora rose from the couch and hunched over slightly from the pain. "Um..." Ron took a deep breath. "Right, I have to put some dittany on your...stomach and back, so-" Pandora tenderly removed her vest and unbuttoned the bottom of her blouse. Ron promptly began looking everywhere in the room as she did this, finding the threads in the carpet rather interesting, but she captured his attention when she cleared her throat. Ron attempted to control his breathing when his eyes found her smooth waist and curved back; Pandora had only lifted the bottom half of her plain white school shirt to allow access to her bruising sides and red back. Ron cleared his throat purposely and grabbed the jar and opened it, emptying a small amount of its contents into his hand. "Where does it hurt?" Pandora gestured to her right side, just above her hip bone. Ron nodded and began rubbing the dittany into her skin, forcing himself to think of anything: Quidditch...Voldemort...Harry's scar...that seemed to work. "Where else?"

"My back. The middle there..."

Pandora's voice carried an unfamiliar vulnerability as she spoke. Ron nodded and began rubbing the essence into her back. Once he finished, Pandora buttoned her blouse and replaced her vest on her body before she walked up to Ron as he finished refilling the bag. "Thank you."

Just as she approached the portrait hole, Ron's voice stopped her.

"What makes you think no one cares about you?"

Pandora turned around and eyed Ron severely before speaking.

"Is it not obvious enough for you? Everyone in this school has developed a deep dislike for me."

Ron exhaled loudly and looked Pandora square in the eye.

"Not everyone."

Pandora's eyebrows met in confusion and Ron continued.

"Not obvious enough for you either, eh? You think I hate you?"

Pandora shook her head and shifted her feet.

"No need to be nice to the new student. It won't benefit you."

Ron grinned half-heartedly. "I don't do things that'll benefit me. I do things just 'cause I want to."

Pandora scrutinized him with her eyes.

"So you...like me simply because you want to?"

Ron nodded and suddenly found his hands rather interesting. Pandora grinned slightly and spoke over her shoulder as she exited the common room.

"I don't suppose my actions will prove me a true Gryffindor now?"

**Woot the end of another chapter! Isn't Larvil pleasant? **

**Reviews keep me motivated and may even help me improve! *hint hint nudge nudge***


	8. Walked right in on something private

**Hello again! Another chapter! A lot happens in this one, I think its pretty important. Well, its planned out that way, at least =P Hope you enjoy it! Thank you to all who have read, favourited, subscribed, and reviewed! Hope I don't disappoint!**

**Disclaimer – HAH! If I was Rowling...well, this story would be much better.**

**:::**

Pandora spent her afternoon classes avoiding attempted questions and not-so-subtle stares in her direction. Her final two lessons were not much different from her Defence against the Dark Arts period, each consisting of a Death Eater with a dark lesson and relentless punishments, which were few and far between since Pandora's incident. She stiffly made her way her way towards the Gryffindor tower, standing slightly taller than before and enjoying the relief of the permanently stemmed flow of blood coursing from her nose. After muttering 'seashells' to the Fat Lady and tenderly stepping through the portrait hole, the crowded room she entered was so suddenly cut into silence that Pandora temporarily forgot to breathe. Every eye in the common room was fixed upon her, but for once this school year, no one glared. No one mocked. Pandora noticed several students glancing at her blackened eye or flickering their gaze to her clutched side. After what seemed like hours, a soft voice broke the tension in the room.

"P-Pandora? Are you all right?"

Hermione's figure rose from the couch where she sat beside Harry and Ron in front of the fire and nervously wrung her hands together. Pandora's eye shifted around the room in uncertainty.

"Yes."

No one moved or averted their attention from Pandora. It unnerved her. Hermione spoke as if no one were in the room save herself and the confused witch she spoke to.

"Why did you...why?"

Only the confusion in her voice and determined look in her eyes compelled Pandora to answer honestly.

"You're a symbol of hope in the school. Of intelligence. I'm simply a symbol of something you all despise. So...who's heart would break if I took the fall, right? I didn't do it for anyone. I did it because this school has recently turned into a prison and the moment they find a weakness, they won't stop using it as a threat."

Hermione narrowed her eyes as a brief ripple of whispers sounded amongst the audience.

"You...you...silly woman!" Pandora blinked. "That...you...ugh! That was very admirable, Pandora, I'll give you that. You...put a lot of thought into your actions. But-" Pandora had never seen Hermione so menacing. "-he could have done worse than that! He could have used the Cruciatis on you, he could have-"

"The what?"

"-used a weapon, he could have even killed you as an example, Pandora! You just don't go waltzing up to these people, testing their limits!"

Pandora's lips twisted into a wry smile.

"Probably shouldn't have said what you did to prick that blokes finger..."

Hermione stiffened slightly and muttered something about hearing being much too good for a human. Pandora shook her head in amusement and gently swept past Hermione, catching Ron's eye as she weaved through the still crowd.

"You've proven yourself now, you know that, right? There's no turning back now. You're a Gryffindor."

Pandora took a deep breath as she ascended the stairs.

"Had to prove myself, did I?"

:::

Pandora was on her way to Herbology after a gruelling Transfiguration lesson that required each student to Transfigure their partners into the most horrid creature she had ever seen, a Dartmouth Raider (her partner, Michael Corner, seemed to have lost himself in the transformation and began spitting venom and loping madly around the classroom filled with the same mad creature), and had just finished a Potions class in which Pandora was surprised to find no Death Eater supervising the class creating a drought that caused great blood loss and severe chills, otherwise known as a slow and painful death, and concluded that Professor Esson was a follower of the Dark Lord himself. After the odd and sometimes frightening plants she found herself faced with in her next lesson, Pandora was not looking forward to what was considered an evil plant.

Her thoughts were soon answered as she learned of the blood sucking tendencies of the Vampire Bat Trap, and unpleasantly related it to a Venus flytrap...only much larger.

One hour later, Pandora, among several other students, furiously nursed their injuries as they made their way to lunch, sucking on a puncture on their arm or holding a cloth to their face. Pandora did not fail to notice the occasional stare that followed her through the corridors or ripple of conversation she seemed to create around the castle. It seemed she became as much a topic for discussion as the Death Eaters that surrounded them.

Pandora barely had a chance to take in the dark Entrance Hall when she was suddenly bombarded by a red head.

"I've barely seen you all morning. How are-"

"Think after you fix me up we`re best friends now, do you?"

Ron blinked at Pandora's sharp question. He clearly did not expect her reaction to him to be so sour. Pandora expertly read his face and continued.

"We're not, Weasley. I appreciate your help, as it saved me the trouble of cleaning up my mess, but it changed nothing. We are still better off without each other. I strongly suggest you no longer associate yourself with me."

Pandora made to move around Ron, but his wide frame stepped to the side, blocking her path towards the Great Hall. Ignoring an icy glare from the witch in front of him, he bravely took her hand in his and dragged her in the opposite direction.

"What are you bloody-You big oaf-Leggo of my-"

Ron stopped Pandora's fist aiming for his head with a grunt and calmly lowered it to her side.

"Please...please just follow me. I'll never bother you again."

Pandora considered Ron with her scrutinizing eyes for a moment before he felt her surrender to his will and followed him up two flights of stairs. After nearly fifteen minutes of walking, Pandora finally broke the silence.

"Where are you taking me, you silly-"

"Here." He stopped in front of a rather plain looking wall and looked over at Pandora expectantly. "Walk by this wall three times and think really hard about something you want more than anything."

:::

Ron watched as Pandora stiffened slightly and eyed him oddly. He held back a grin when she jumped once she had finished pacing. She glanced in his direction before pushing the large door open and heard her gasp. Curiosity got the better of him, and Ron slowly followed her into the room. His eyebrows met in confusion at what he saw: all three, plain white walls were covered with still photographs of three women all very similar in appearance. Ron noted one of them very much looked like Pandora. But she looked different; younger, happier. The other two in the photos looked like they could have been her sister and her mother. One thing in the room looked slightly out of place: a hollow wooden box with a long handle of some sort and wire connecting the two. Ron's heartbeat quickened as he noticed Pandora's shaking hand covering her mouth, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. Ron had never seen this kind of emotion from her before. It was almost as frightening as when she unleashed her anger.

It took him a moment to realize Pandora had stopped looking around the room and focused her fierce gaze on him.

"_You!_ Why did you do this?"

Ron was at a loss for words.

"WHAT DID YOU FOLLOW ME FOR? WHAT DID YOU HOPE TO SEE?"

Ron opened and closed his mouth repeatedly.

"WANTED TO SEE THE GREAT GHOSTS OF PANDORA'S PAST, IS THAT RIGHT? WHAT IF I WALKED RIGHT IN ON SOMETHING PRIVATE AND JUST DECIDED I WAS A PART OF IT?"

Ron choked on his words as he noticed her tears falling freely down her cheeks.

"You just need to stay out of my life, Ron. You make it more complicated than you know."

The switch from yelling at the top of her lungs to a chilling calm in her voice made Ron shiver involuntarily and before he knew what was happening, Pandora had slipped past him and out of the door into the corridor. With a last sweeping glance around the room, Ron turned around and darted out the door after her. Pandora's shock of black hair whipped around one turn and Ron bolted, cursing her quick pace as he finally caught up with her in the courtyard. The stormy nature of the weather suited the mood currently hovering over their heads.

Ron cautiously approached Pandora, her back to him, and reached a tentative hand out to her shoulder. He leaped back when she whipped around, robes and hair dripping from the rain and dark-lined eyes smudging from the moisture, although what most shocked him was the look of torture swimming in her eyes.

"Pandora, I'm...I'm so sorry. I thought it would make you happy, going into that room, I didn't-"

"How did you find all of that?"

Ron blinked.

"I-it's called the Room of Requirement. You...you just walk by it like you did and think of something you need...something you want...and the room takes the shape of whatever it was you were thinking."

Pandora seemed to consider him for a moment before turning away from him again.

"What did you expect to happen by bringing me into that room?"

"I thought you would relax more. I know there's more to you than this face you put on everyday..."

Pandora spun around once again and before Ron had a chance to defend himself, she slammed her fist into his chest and his stomach with such force that a grunt erupted from his lips before he finally grabbed her wrist. He restrained her other wrist before she had a chance to use it as a weapon against him and forced both of her arms against her chest. Her face twisted in fury.

"You have _no _right...you can't just do that and...you have _no _idea what I've been through...you _bloody poor excuse for a bloody_..."

The last thing Ron expected Pandora to do as she struggled against his hold was to break down completely in his arms. Her arms caught between them, she wept against his chest, barely able to hold herself up, shaking uncontrollably. At a loss for words, Ron did nothing but wrap his own arms gently around her shaking body and firmly concentrated on never letting her go.

:::

The next couple of days had passed by in mutual silence between the two, neither strained nor uncomfortable, but simply understood. Pandora endured each lesson quietly and without notice from the Death Eaters, completing homework properly and on time without complaint. She continued to ignore the all-too-familiar stares and mutters as she walked the halls of the school. After an Apparition lesson on a mid-November afternoon, Pandora made her way down to the Great Hall earlier than usual. She tossed her school bag under her seat and plopped herself down at the long Gryffindor table. Most of her housemates had thankfully left her alone since that evening they all confronted her about her actions after Halloween. A few students silently acknowledged her as they took their seats and immediately resumed conversations with their friends. Pandora waited for the feast to appear so she could pick at her share of food and return to the seclusion of the common room.

She suddenly felt the presence of someone to her right and knew it was Ron, though she never turned her head from the middle of the table, now filling with food. Harry and Hermione soon sat to his right as well, although they all seemed to agree on a companionable silence. As Pandora finished her miniscule meal and gathered her things, Ron spoke up.

"Pandora?" She slowly turned to face Ron, his expression etched in worry. He cleared his throat. "Err...would you like to study with us? Later?"

Pandora raised an eyebrow and looked on the other side of Ron at Harry and Hermione who returned her inquiring gaze with a friendly one.

"I...I suppose so."

Pandora patiently waited for the trio to finish off their dinner and then they headed up towards the Gryffindor tower which turned out to be relatively empty due to the earliness of the evening. Pandora pulled out her work in an organized fashion on a small table beside the staircase. Her ears pricked at the small discussion the three were having around the fire and she caught Ron's eye.

She hated that feeling whenever he looked at her. She felt naked, exposed, stripped of any barrier she had left between her and that boy. She had exposed such an emotional part of her to him that she felt he had a sort of a claim on her that no one could see except them, and it made her skin crawl. The thought repeatedly crossed her mind of whether he had told his friends about that afternoon and what he saw, but she never noticed any looks of pity.

Pandora forced herself to return to her work on the importance of Seethite Root in various destruction potions for Esson. She was nearly finished her twelve-inch essay and already began thinking of the new spell she needed to learn for Defence Against the Dark Arts when Hermione made her way towards Pandora's table.

"Is there anything you needed help with?"

Pandora blinked. Hermione had not asked to help Pandora since that first week she arrived at the school. Eyeing her finished essay, Pandora sighed and closed her text book. Hermione took this as a sign of defeat and sat in the empty chair on the opposite side of Pandora, attempting to conceal an eager face. Pandora's twisted in slight disgust as she handled her wand.

"It's horrible. I do not want to learn this spell. I don't want to write about these _things_. I don't want to disembowel someone. But what choice do we all really have?"

Hermione's eager face dropped slightly. She looked down into her hands at her own wand.

"And...you listened to me, did you? Decided it's best not to constantly get yourself in trouble?"

"I decided if I get too injured I won't be able to look after you."

Hermione laughed softly at Pandora's statement but stopped abruptly when she looked up and saw no amusement in her green eyes. She cleared her throat.

"What did you need help with?"

Pandora inhaled sharply and eyed her wand.

"The Dead Atmosphere. From Larvil's lesson."

Hermione nodded mutely. She conjured a sort of mask for the four of them and waited patiently as each applied the mask over their mouths in slight apprehension. As Hermione spoke, she weaved her wand in an intricate pattern Pandora picked up quickly.

"Mortuus Aer."

The air almost seemed to shrivel Pandora's skin. She felt heavy and weak and she struggled to keep the steady rise and fall of her chest.

"Aer."

The air seemed to seep out of Hermione's wand and she felt strong and healthy again and promptly removed her mask, the others following.

"What bloody magic are these people forcing on us?"

Pandora's sharp tone seemed to jerk the others into reality.

"This isn't right...this isn't what magic is meant for...but..." Pandora eyed all of them in turn. "...we learn this Dark Magic. We learn it...and at the opportune moment, we use it against them."

:::

**If anyone has ever wondered, yes, I did create the Willow Hominis, Mortuus Aer, the Dartmouth Raider, that blood-loss potion, the Vampire Bat Trap, and a lot of the lesson plans seeing as 7****th**** year never really happened and we don't ever find out every single spell, potion and creature. So I know Rowling used Latin as a base for the spells and i just decided, 'hey why not make my own!' Y'all should try it, its really fun!**


	9. I'm not taking you to the park

**Hellooo readers hopefully looking for a decent story to read! Newest chapter here, more of a filler than anything but there is a lot of information that you (or, at least, Pandora) needed to know before I could move on and now that its out there, lets move on to bigger and better things! Hope you enjoy it!**

**:::**

Three things had become a daily routine amidst the corridors of Hogwarts: Death Eaters assembling dark lesson plans for the professors, heavy mists seeping through the grounds every morning and every evening, and regular punishments given to students for their cheek or stupidity. Two weeks after their arrival, the Death Eaters had made it quite clear what they expect out of everyone in the school: obedience and respect, neither of which was given to them freely. How far could these intruders push the spirits of the young witches and wizards?

Pandora was studying from her Charms notes in her usual spot in the common room, reluctantly taking in as much of the disturbing information as possible for the imminent test in two days. The common room was uncharacteristically empty for a cold Saturday, although Pandora assumed the need to be away from the prison feeling of Hogwarts overtook the November weather. Sifting through another piece of note-scribbled parchment, she looked up as the portrait hole opened. _Of course, _she thought, _he would walk in. _

Pandora had tried to act as casual as she could around the redhead, but felt herself oddly confused at times, like she didn't know if she despised him, enjoyed his company or felt indifferent. She hated the feeling nonetheless, as she was used to simply despising everyone, but even she was sure she now enjoyed Hermione's company as she continued to tutor her. She grinned inwardly at Hermione's exasperated expression the other day during a particular lesson that Pandora found difficult to grasp as Ron settled into a chair, exhaling loudly.

"Long day?" Pandora questioned. Ron chuckled.

"It's eleven-thirty."

Pandora shrugged.

"No, I...I'm just not looking forward to the workload due next week."

Pandora returned to her notes. "What have you been doing until now?"

Ron grinned sheepishly. "Well, we _were_ planning on a snowball fight but there isn't enough out there, so Hermione went off to the Library – big surprise – and Harry and I went to visit Hagrid."

"Ah. And the workload has not been troubling your carefree mind until this very moment, is that it?"

Ron grinned again but said nothing. Pandora continued to gaze at the parchment without actually reading her notes. She sighed and shuffled them together to place them in her bag.

"Ron, I need you to tell me something."

Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Anything."

"What-" She paused, thinking how to carefully word her question. "What's going on? With Harry, with these Death Eaters - whose orders do they follow anyways? Why are they here?"

Ron blinked at the seriousness of Pandora's inquiries.

"Err-"

"You _do _know, right?"

Ron nodded slowly, his eyes fixed on the fire.

"Sixteen years ago, this evil wizard had complete control over the wizarding world. Every one lived in fear of him; no one even said his name. Just called him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He gathered followers everywhere...trolls, giants, Inferi, and Death Eaters. They're all something like second in command to him. So, he heard about a Prophecy that had something to do with Harry, how he would be the end of him." Ron gulped, but continued under Pandora's intense stare. "You-Know-Who broke into Harry's house when he was only a year old, killed his mum and dad and went for him next; only this really powerful magic left by his mum had shielded him somehow and reduced him to nothing. So he disappeared for thirteen years after that, looking for ways to become strong again, until three years ago when he came back in a body and everything. So he's started recruiting the same creatures and people as the last time and he's still bent on killing Harry. But Harry has to kill him too. So Harry's – err..."

Pandora sat up straighter in her seat.

"You...can't tell me what Harry's doing to kill him, can you?"

Ron shook his head as he met Pandora's eye.

"I'm sorry...it's his business. He'll tell you if he needs to, but he's my best mate."

Pandora nodded.

"I understand."

Ron blinked.

"Y-you do? Normally people press on and on about what's going on-"

"You can't tell me. I know you won't and so I know there's no point in continuing to ask you. So, this You-Know-Who...what's his name that no one ever speaks?"

Ron looked like he was struggling with himself.

"You...can't say it, either?" Ron sighed. "It's just simple letters, Ron. This wizard has been the one doing horrible things, not his name."

Ron shook his head. "You don't understand. You weren't here when he was attacking the school in subtle ways nearly every year, attacking muggles and teachers and students-"

He cut his sentence off as Pandora gently placed her hand on his arm. She widened her eyes and tore her hand away as if burned before returning her gaze towards him once more as if nothing happened.

"Voldemort." He whispered it as if he were in pain.

:::

Unable to sleep, Ron settled for staring at the top of his four-poster bed, allowing thoughts to race through his mind. He found himself quite comfortable explaining the past seventeen years to Pandora, felt compelled to tell her everything, even about the Horcruxes Harry must destroy. Talking about Voldemort and the inevitable war with one who didn't share his concern, but rather brought on an interest never seen included in this subject before seemed to clear his head of old thoughts and added new ones, thoughts about how it would happen, who would come out stronger, strategies they would need to figure out, how many of the students would participate. Always in the back of his mind was his family, including Harry and Hermione. He knew they would fight. There was nothing he could do to prevent it. There was nothing anyone could do to prevent him from fighting as well.

A new worry threatened to eat away at him recently, try as he might to stuff it down: Pandora. If he knew her like he thought he did, she would fight too. And he really didn't want her to.

The door creaked open to reveal Harry attempting to sneak in late again that night, his wand in one hand and Invisibility Cloak in the other, out studying You-Know-Who and his Horcruxes again. Without looking at him, Harry strode towards his bed and hid his cloak in his travel case under his bed. Making sure everyone in the room was asleep, Ron made Harry aware of his consciousness.

"Looking for you-know-what again, mate?"

Harry jumped and dropped his pyjamas, wand in front of him, before his eyes focussed on Ron and he relaxed noticeably.

"You need help, Harry." Ron whispered. "You can't keep doing this alone. It'd go a lot faster if you let-"

"You two already do enough for me. If I need your help, you'll know."

Ron sighed and waited until Harry was settled in his bed before speaking again.

"You won't ask us, Harry. But you'd better get used to us helping, 'cause we're not leaving you alone to do this, no matter what you say."

Harry was silent for a few more moments.

"I know you and Hermione will. But, I can't ask you...knowing the risks, I can't. Too much to lose..."

Ron understood what Harry was talking about.

"You don't have to ask us." Harry sighed in exasperation. "Just put yourself in our shoes, Harry. You know you'd insist on helping either one of us."

He finally turned over on his side and let sleep take him as he let his friend turn his words over in his head.

:::

Pandora jumped from her deep concentration on her Potions notes as heavy footsteps sounded down the staircase to the dormitories.

"Pandora?" Ron ran towards the couch in front of the fireplace. "Pandora?" He glanced towards the portrait hole. "Pandora!" He ran back up the staircase but paused after the first few steps. Pandora smirked as she heard him descend the steps once more and looked to the left of the landing at Pandora's usual table, face flushed with embarrassment.

"Were you looking for me?" Ron chuckled and ran his hand through his shaggy red hair.

"Yeah, I...I was, actually."

"Ah. Lucky guess, I suppose. So, what was so important that made you run around like a headless chicken looking for me?"

Ron's face turned, if possible, a deeper shade of red.

"Well, I...err...I was just wondering if you wanted to go for a walk? With me, you know...just...around the grounds..."

Pandora grinned as Ron stumbled through his request. She shook her head in amusement and rose from her seat, but froze as she noticed his dejected form; clearly, he took her head movement as a 'no'.

"I wouldn't mind having a break from studying, but I really should keep working. I'm afraid Hermione might further yell at me for allowing myself to be punished once again by our lovely guests if I fail to pass the coming test."

Ron seemed to relax as he grinned along with Pandora.

"You studied all bloody day yesterday. You only came out for dinner, otherwise you never left. Come on...stretch out your legs for an hour. I'm sure you'll do fine tomorrow."

Pandora eyed Ron as he tried to convince her to leave the confines of the room in which she's studied in for twenty-two hours. But he looked entirely too hopeful and she couldn't bring herself to turn his appealing offer down.

"Alright, alright, I'll go walk with you, you silly boy." He beamed at her and she couldn't help but grin. "Just let me get some proper clothes on, it looks volatile out there."

Ron waited as patiently as he could while Pandora gathered proper trainers, a warm plaid jacket and a thick scarf. Gliding easily down the stairs, she met up with an over-excited Ron who appeared to be bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Calm down there, Weasley. I`m not taking you to the park."

Ron flushed red once more and ceased his actions but the bright look on his face never left as they exited the common room. "What's got you suddenly all up and bouncy? I thought you were outside yesterday?"

Ron shrugged and scouted the grounds of Hogwarts as they strode out onto the wet grass, squinting against the feisty autumn winds.

"I dunno, actually. I just..."

Pandora eyed her companion oddly as his sentence trailed off. She sighed and returned to paying attention to their path.

"What would you like to know?"

Ron stopped in his tracks and gaped at Pandora as she strode by him, oblivious to his shock. She raised her eyebrow in question once she realized she was walking alone.

"You're uncannily easy to read sometimes, Weasley."

Ron shock melted into a smirk. "Sometimes."

They resumed their path towards the Black Lake in thoughtful silence before Pandora resumed speaking once more.

"What did you want to know?"

"Where did you...where were you born?"

Pandora faltered. This was not what she was expecting to be asked, but found no reason not to answer truthfully.

"Tonbridge." She shook her head when she noted the confusion flash in Ron's eyes. "Small town in Kent."

Ron nodded thoughtfully and asker his next question. "Is that where you grew up?" Pandora nodded, already unsure of where this was going. "Did you...have anything brothers or sisters?"

Pandora narrowed her eyes. She knew he was very well aware of her sister and thought this a rather useless question. "Sister."

"What's her name?"

Pandora struggled with herself to keep calm, to show no emotion the way she trained herself to. She found that control slowly proving futile around Ron. "Saphira."

Ron nodded once and seemed to catch the hint her biting tone offered. "What's your favourite colour?"

Pandora laughed, high and contagious, and Ron found himself chuckling heartily along with her. She pinched the bridge of her nose in amusement and peeked up at Ron from under her hand.

"My favourite colour? I haven't been asked that question in nearly ten years...I'd have to say, incidentally, red."

A blush crept up Ron's neck to his cheeks at her words and he cleared his throat purposefully as she grinned.

"Right, err...what's your favourite season?"

Pandora glanced thoughtfully at the weather around her, her eyes flitting from fallen yellow leaf to fallen yellow leaf.

"Autumn."

"What are your parents' names?"

Pandora wished she could control the flinch that contorted her face as this question came to surface.

"Thom and Lyra Witte."

She fought to keep her voice steady.

"Why didn't they...why did they keep you from this place?"

Pandora focussed solely on her breathing for a few strides before answering one of the questions she had really hoped he wouldn't ask.

"I was doing really well in home schooling and I suppose my father replied and declined the invitation, as I assume you're allowed to do with good reason."

Not entirely true but not all false.

"So they never told you that you're a witch?"

Pandora shook her head slowly and waited for the next question.

"Do you know what you want to do when you leave Hogwarts?"

She chuckled then.

"Whatever Voldemort deems allowable out there, I suppose."

Ron blinked.

"You'd stay in the wizard world? I thought you'd go back."

Pandora's face hardened and she spoke through a clenched jaw.

"I don't plan on going back."

Pandora could almost hear the gears whirring in his mind as he sought his next question.

"What...what's happened that's made you feel this way?"

Pandora had to lie now. She knew it.

"I'm a very independent individual, as you may have noticed. They always said I could do whatever I wanted as long as I didn't expect them to help out, which I don't." Ron nodded apprehensively. "So, what about you, then?"

He raised his eyebrows. "What about me?"

"Where were you born, how many brothers and sisters do you have, your favourite colour, season, parents' names, what are your career goals...etcetera, etcetera."

Ron chuckled.

"Okay, okay...uhh...first one then...what was-"

"Where were you born?"

"Right, right. Ottery St. Catchpole. Wizard community, you wouldn't have heard of it. Err...right, my family. I have five brothers, Fred, George, Percy, Bill and Charlie, and one sister, Ginny. My parents are Arthur and Molly Weasley. Err...what were-"

"Colour and season?"

"I'd have to say blue. And summer. Career goals, right?" He sighed heavily. "I'd like to be an Auror. They catch dark wizards and such...I don't see how it's gonna happen now though."

Pandora nudged Ron's arm with her elbow. "There must be some sort of resistance out there, Ron. There has to be other witches and wizards other than us in the school who have the heart to resist. You can do it. Train privately; I'm sure they do that." Pandora caught Ron's doubtful expression. "You can do it. You have it in you. You're more intelligent than you give yourself credit for, you're quite brave, and you...I don't know, you think differently. Like...street smart."

She smirked as she noticed the blush creeping into his cheeks at her words.

"Err...thank you."

"What made you want to talk to me in the first place?"

Ron stumbled over his feet at her unexpected question, ungracefully attempting to regain his composure.

"Err – what?"

"You heard me."

Pandora took the momentary silence to acknowledge their surroundings; they were now on the other side of the Black Lake, circling back around towards the castle looming in the horizon.

"You're different. Different than anyone else in the school. I can't place it, but...I just really wanted to talk to you. You're strong, don't care what people think of you, strongly opinionated-" Pandora snorted in amusement at this. "- and you're a really good friend."

It was Pandora's turn to stumble, although her recovery was much more graceful.

"So...that's what we are, then? F-friends?"

Ron nodded slowly.

"Haven't you ever...had a friend?"

Pandora's eyes seemed distant as she remembered her short childhood.

"Yes...a long time ago. I mentioned I was home schooled. Didn't go out very often." Pandora cleared her throat and tried for a more uplifting tone. "So, friends, eh? Are you sure about that?"

Ron grinned. "I think I've endured the worst of you up to this point. I'm sure I can handle you now."

Pandora shook her head and glanced sideways at him as they neared the damp, grassy grounds of Hogwarts.

"You think so, do you? Oh, well, we'll just see."

Ron grinned at her and nudged her arm with his own elbow and they walked toward the doors in comfortable silence.

The comfortable silence ended when a blood curdling scream tore up and down the corridor. Ron took off towards the Great Hall while Pandora tore across the marble ground in the opposite direction to the other side of the castle. She ripped through the growing crowd and up three flights of stairs before the source of the sound reflected in Pandora's fiery eyes.

:::

**Ah, I'm so evil. Mwhaha. So, can anyone guess what's going on with Pandora, what her past is about? Unless no one was suspicious and I just gave it away -_-'' And what about the cliffy? Eh? Who's screaming? Feel free to guess, I won't say if you're wrong =)**

**I want to thank everyone who has reviewed (weasleyobsessed, hotpocketbandit, Edwardluvv, MarthavanVires, thenewthingx, AmberBreath, YANIsweetness7, Jess-Tyson) I really do appreciate your feedback =)**


	10. She'll need a grave, not a Hospital

**Well slap me sideways and call me Senior, I've gone and done another chapter! (Don't ask...I'm tired...) Consider yourselves lucky (or at least those who enjoy my story) that it poured down rain on my camping trip and I decided to finish this chappy off...and maybe start my 11****th**** while I wait! Hope you all like it =) it should tie up some loose ends for now and explain a lot about my character =D Let me know what you think!**

Hermione's broken body lay on the cold stone floor surrounded by only two malicious Death Eaters. Snarling, Pandora lunged for the throat of the one with his wand raised and barely noticed her shoulders being restrained by a pair of dark arms. Pandora's fury dimmed the look of shock and anger painting the Death Eaters' face in her mind and the exertion of pressure against her arms as Anastasia held her back from her actions. The strained voice in her ear barely registered in her brain.

"Pandora...please...leave it...relax...leave it to me-"

Hermione was panting as the curse lifted and her eyes flitted wildly around the corridor before resting on Pandora, still struggling against her professor.

"Gentlemen-" She cringed slightly at the term but continued. "-I am sure we can come to an understanding, here. She is simply an innocent girl, whatever problems you may have with her you may discuss with me." Anastasia struggled to keep her voice calm as she fought against Pandora.

"The Mudblood was caught with this-" The bystander, long scraggly hair and a small, round face, tossed an ancient, leather-bound text book at their feet bearing the words, _Ancient Magic of Olde _in slanted scripture etched into the cover. "-and tried to hide it from us." Anastasia's curiosity was brief, but Pandora barely noticed; her mind seemed to be drowned by the thought of running to her friend and-

Pandora sagged in her teachers arms, hitting her knees in resignation.

"This mean anything to you, blood-traitor?"

Anastasia narrowed her eyes in defiance.

"But, surely, you are not afraid of the wee students of Hogwarts learning dark magic...to use against you lot? Now, that would just be daft, wouldn't it?"

The armed Death Eater sneered and pointed his short wand at Anastasia's chest. _Crucio _barely left his lips when _Pulmopactum _left Pandora's. The lightening-yellow curse hit the attacker directly in his chest. He spluttered, his eyes bulged, and he clutched at his robes, attempting to rip them off, fighting for breath. His comrade openly gaped at the Death Eater's torture and turned his shocked gaze towards Pandora kneeling beside Hermione protectively, her normally composed face twisting with rage.

The Death Eater clutched at his throat and dropped to his knees; his face had turned an alarming shade of purple. Pandora muttered _Pulmoimpendo _and withdrew her wand as the slowly collapsing man inhaled sharply and the pasty colour returned to his face. He glanced at Pandora almost fearfully before forcing himself up on his feet, keeled over as if someone had punched his stomach. His fellow had finally gotten over his shock and glared at Pandora pointedly.

"You..." He shook his head in anger. "You will pay for that, Mudblood. You think Larvil's punishment for your cheek was painful? Your punishment for attacking one of us will leave scars on your soul."

He lunged forward and tore at Pandora's arm, dragging her behind him down the corridor. She never struggled, only look Anastasia in the eye.

"Take her to the hospital wing. Find Ron and Harry-"

"Shut up!" The following Death Eater roared and kicked Pandora across her knee. The only sound after that was the undeniable scream that followed as they turned a corner. Anastasia and Hermione shared a look, one's face covered with shock, the other with tears, as the owners of the footsteps arrived.

:::

Ron burst through the large doors of the hospital wing, gasping for breath and clutching the throbbing pain in his side, and tore across the room towards Hermione. As he fought to even his breathing, he noticed she looked rather annoyed and worried at the same time.

"Made it here...fast as I could...Anastasia said...Cruciatis Curse...Death Eater..." He inhaled and exhaled with purpose and decided to go in another direction of conversation as Harry burst through the doors in much the same fashion. "What's got your knickers in a twist, Hermione?"

Harry had caught up to them, bent over and rasping for breath, when Hermione finally turned her torn gaze to Ron.

"Pandora has to be the silliest-ugh!"

Ron froze; Pandora was involved. Hermione was worried. This could not be good. But he had to sort his priorities for now, as Hermione had been hurt and he needed to be sure she would be all right.

"Pandora? What has she-"

"How are you feeling? I mean, you were..." Ron cut through Harry's inevitable question but found himself unable to finish his own question.

Hermione's features softened. "I'm fine Ron...it was...it was over as soon as he stopped, really."

"So...what happened? What bloody reason did that smarmy-"

Hermione snapped a tattered old book under Harry's nose before he could finish his second question. He took it tentatively and perused its pages. Hermione dropped her voice.

"You have no idea what I went through to find this book. It mentions briefly the importance the creator of a Horcrux puts into their object, or in this case, _objects_, and it even hints at precisely how one splits their soul and places it into said object. Now, I know you are aware of the importance of the object already, so that's why I found another book, in my bag there, simply about Hogwarts artefacts and heirlooms. It seemed harmless enough to them, I suppose."

Nearly a full minute after Hermione finished her explanation Harry finally stopped openly gaping at her and his face split into a smile.

"Bloody hell, Hermione, this it...this is brilliant! I mean this...this is more than anyone anywhere could ever find..."

Hermione flushed slightly at the compliments but looked nonetheless confident.

"Right, well...this is absolutely silly. No need for me to be in this lumpy bed, I'm quite fine, I assure you..."

"Not so fast, young lady. I need you here another hour at least." said Madam Pomfrey. "Can't possibly walk about those corridors in your condition."

"And what, exactly, is my condition?"

The nurse refilled Hermione's healing goblet and ambled off, muttering something about children talking back. Hermione sighed.

"You had better go and find Pandora. Merlin only knows what condition she's in after that run in with those Death Eaters."

Ron exchanged an understanding look with Harry, gave Hermione's hand a squeeze, and flew back through the doors. He nearly ran into a man cloaked in black standing just outside the entrance and heard only this.

"...see that Mudblood anywhere near here, she'll need a grave, not a hospital!"

Ron swore under his breath and tore down the hallways of the castle, everyone talking about the attack on Hermione and very few about the outcome of Pandora's punishment; he hoped with all his heart she would be well and able to tell him what she had done to provoke the Death Eaters again with a good laugh and a casual wave of her hand, although he knew he was asking for too much. He glanced down a side hallway and almost ran past it before something caught his eye in front of a classroom door. He approached the figure slowly, knowing only too well who it was, though her beautiful face was stained with blood and covered in cuts and her leg was bent at an odd angle as she sat against the cold stone of the wall. He sunk to his knees in front of her and forced himself to look her in the eye, which, he was thankful, was still poison green and fierce.

"Bloody hell, Pandora...what did they..."

He ran a shaky hand through his hair as Pandora smiled weakly.

"'ve had worse."

Ron shook his head slowly.

"Wish I could walk so you wouldn' have to carry me."

"What happened?" He asked weakly.

"Tell you all 'bout it when 'm feeling better."

Ron carefully wrapped his arms about her back and legs, trying desperately to stop the pain flashing across her face as he moved her. She helpfully wrapped her arms around his neck and tenderly rested her head upon his shoulder as he walked out of the small corridor.

"You were right. Too right...about Hermione being a target." Pandora remained silent. "Don't take this the wrong way...I just never thought you'd be the one who'd protect her...who'd give in to her being-"

He swallowed thickly, and it may have been his imagination, but he swore he felt her hands tighten gently around his neck for a brief moment.

"Can't take you to the hospital wing...they're guarding that now. Don't want you around them...I'll bring you to the common room. I can try to help you there...not as good as Pomfrey though..."

"Laughter is the best medicine...'ve been told."

The newfound strength in her voice surprised Ron. She chuckled softly.

"Pomfrey...she has a good heart. Sense of humour like a dragon, though."

Ron chuckled along with her, ignoring the odd looks they received from passing students as they gaped at Pandora's bloody figure and craned their heads at the sound of their laughter.

:::

It had been nearly an hour and Ron had found nothing that would help Pandora's wounds. She no longer felt the pain of her punishment, and admitted grudgingly to herself that Ron had something to do with that. He eventually gave up for the moment and knelt in front of Pandora on the couch, helpless. She moved her hand as if to brush the hair away from his eyes, but stopped before she would embarrass herself and settled for a story instead.

"They insulted Hermione." Ron looked up, curious. "Called her...Mudblood. I saw them torturing her. So I tried to stop it-"

"Why?"

Pandora raised an eyebrow at him.

"No, no offense!" He bared his hands in defence. "I was just wondering what drove you to..._this_." He gestured to her nearly broken body.

Pandora sighed. "I had hoped you wouldn't ask that. I...I honestly don't know, Ron. Something snapped inside me. I suddenly felt overwhelmingly protective. And then that bloody Death Eater turned his wand on Anastasia-" Her voice burned with anger and hatred. "-and he was about to do to her what he did to Hermione. So I...well, I'm not proud of it. I used that lung-contraction curse on him. Frightened the bullocks off him, I did." She smirked. "So his mate didn't like that too much. Dragged me to that empty classroom you saw me in front of. After a while I barely understood the curses they were-"

"Stop. Please, stop."

Ron had his head in his hands, which were trembling slightly.

"Ron? What's-"

"I just...I just don't like hearing about you...I just don't like it, ok?"

Pandora gently lifted Ron's chin with her finger and looked him in the eye.

"I'm sorry. But you can see I'm fine...can't you?"

"Pandora...your face is covered in blood and your knee is broken."

Pandora shook her head. "I'm talking. I'm laughing. I'm breathing. I can see. I can hear. I can smell. Only thing I can't do is walk."

Ron might have smiled if the sound of yelling and the portrait hole opening hadn't disrupted their moment.

"Pandora! Oh my goodness-"

Hermione all but pounced on Pandora as she rushed to her side and wrapped her arms around her. Pandora froze, but made no move to push Hermione away.

"Why did you-you silly..." Pandora blinked as she noticed tears streaming down Hermione's cheeks.

"Blimey, Hermione, can't you see she's fine?"

Pandora shared an amused look with Ron as he said this, but he seemed to regret his words as Hermione slapped him across the arm.

"You insensitive git! Can't you see how hurt she is? I snuck this potion out of the hospital wing, Pandora, I had a feeling you wouldn't be welcome back, and luckily I've done enough reading-" she shot Ron a dirty look. "-on these spells and curses to heal those wounds enough that...well, they won't be very noticeable." She finished with less enthusiasm.

Pandora's gaze flickered from Hermione's earnest gaze to Ron's anxious one and back again.

"Alright...I'll let you...how did you put it?" She glanced at Ron once more. "Fix me? Yes, that's right."

:::

Exhausted, panting slightly and satisfied, Hermione had eventually found a series of spells powerful enough to tone down the appearance of Pandora's scars and even found one that would enable them to completely heal over time. Sprawled over the worn in chair in front of the fire with Pandora sitting cross-legged and stiff at her feet, Hermione let out a throaty chuckle. Pandora craned her head around to gain a better view of her and eyed her oddly.

"Have I missed the punch line to this crude joke?"

Hermione shook her head lazily, ignoring Harry and Ron's looks as well. The common room had filled up substantially and overflowed with conversations. Pandora swore she heard her name more than once, but found herself unsurprised and, although she found herself joined by Ron's sister, Ginny, soon after Hermione had finished healing Pandora. She had never spoken to this girl and barely glanced at her as she lounged upon the arm of the chair Hermione sat in. Pandora had deduced that she was strong-minded, stubborn, and would not be talked down to.

"I just...I never thought we'd be in this position. Fighting for our lives in a place we thought forever safe. Seeking ways to destroy You-Know-Who. Sitting in the common room forced to act perfectly normal when it should simply come naturally. When exams would simply not matter anymore is a day I just never saw coming!"

Ron snorted. "Well, I'm not really surprised that's one of the things you miss this year."

Hermione glowered at him. Pandora shook her head in amusement. "Pray, tell, please, why you find this dark matter amusing?"

Hermione shrugged half-heartedly. "Maybe I am going mental."

Pandora sighed and muttered, "Going mental may be the most sane thing that can happen to you under these circumstances."

Everyone looked at her then, she knew it. In times where keeping your mind in check should be most crucial, you lose yourself in the seriousness of the situation. If one just let themselves go, let their mind lose control, it would enable a certain amount in normalcy in your thought process once the madness ceased. It is an odd lesson to learn, a lesson no one can teach, a lesson no one needs to know.

She chuckled humourlessly and returned her full attention to the fire, frowning only when someone appeared to have blocked it and made no hurry to move out of the way. Pandora glanced up and was surprised to see Parvati and Lavender standing there, fidgeting nervously with the sleeves of their robes. Pandora exchanged quick looks with Harry and Ron before rising to her full height, nearly six inches taller than both, and crossed her arms expectantly. Parvati bravely drew up her meek form and looked Pandora straight in the eye. The room had gone quiet.

"We-Lavender and I-we wanted to apologize. We judged you, and we were wrong, and we're sorry. We hope you'll forgive us."

Pandora fought hard against her shock at the words the Gryffindor spoke. Her gaze flickered between the two; though Lavender seemed nearly frightened out of her wits, she seemed slightly ashamed and sincere. Pandora inwardly sighed and cracked a small smile.

"There is nothing to forgive." She replied simply. Relief washed over their faces and Lavender looked near to giving her a hug, though she soon thought against it and settled for a somewhat awkward handshake, which Pandora returned just as awkwardly. Pandora had plunked herself unceremoniously back onto the carpet in front of Hermione and glanced around again, her shock undisguised. Hermione sniffed behind her.

"I told you, Pandora. You're a Gryffindor now."

:::

Ron spent the remainder of the night watching Pandora carefully as she allowed herself to be pushed from conversation to conversation with different people in the common room. She had spent nearly twenty minutes talking to a sixth year whom Ron did not know. After well over an hour and speaking with nearly thirty of Gryffindors' students, everyone eventually receded to their separate dorms and left Pandora at peace where Ron found her on the couch, sprawled lazily and breathing deeply. He warily approached her makeshift bed and knelt in front of her, scanning her peaceful face. He made to drape the homemade quilt over her sleeping form but paused in the act when the light from the fireplace illuminated stark white lines along her wrist that stood out painfully against her sun-tanned skin.

Narrowing his eyes, Ron traced the curious marks with his finger to further understand them until his eyes found the longest white line, reaching from her thumb to her elbow. Many things happened at once; he gasped with understanding as a vice grip tightened painfully around his wrist and his yelp of pain caught in his throat as he looked into green poison.

Pandora glared at him, her grip on his wrist never ceasing, and he was briefly reminded of how she used to be with him. Her voice was low and cold.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Ron's gaze flickered to the white scars on her wrist. Pandora caught his gaze and raised a dark eyebrow at him as if daring him to ask the question.

So he did.

"What are those scars on your arm from?"

His voice was stronger than he thought. He felt as if someone had drained him of all of his blood and had replaced it with ice cold water. So many things had shaken him up today, nearly all of these incidences involving her, but nothing could prepare him for the sudden sadness that now lined her eyes. She sighed in resignation and sat up in the couch, motioning with her head for him to accompany her. He did so in a heartbeat, straining his ears so hard that it hurt. She spoke in a small voice that sounded weaker than it did early this afternoon when she was physically weak.

"You have a large family. You fight with them sometimes?" Ron nodded sharply. "You get punished for being bad?"

Ron shrugged. "Yeah...mum usually makes me do things the muggle way for a while..."

Pandora nodded, still facing the fireplace. "You don't get beat on for slouching? Or told how much you embarrass them in public? Or whipped for wearing wrinkled clothing?"

Ron blinked. It felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs and it took him a moment before he could reply. "N-no..."

The fire only enhanced the pain in her eyes. "My father had his ways of punishment. Had his own ideas of what was right or wrong. He was a very proper man. Not a hair astray on his head nor a thread free of his trousers. And so the very same was expected of his children and his wife. If we ashamed him in any way, made a fool of him, he would hit us. My sister and I. But when we were in public, he would, conversationally as ever, tell us he deserved better children than us and that we were not deserving of all we received from him. He'd never yell in public. Or at home. He made it too normal.

"As his children, we were to be strong, show no sign of weakness. So his lesson for that was to whip our backs or legs - because no one could see the scars – with a thin stick until we began to feel nothing at all. I became so sick of the treatment, of the direction my life was turning to, of being verbally berated daily, that I..."

Her voice trailed off as she looked down at the scars on her wrist. Ron took her hand and looked into her eyes.

"...missed...obviously." Pandora shook her head roughly and continued. "So I took that as a sign and I stayed strong for mum. She stayed strong for us too. Over and over he told her she was lucky to have married into his family and that he could marry anyone he wanted and he made her toughen up the same way he'd toughen me and my sister. So she had to stay strong...for our sake..."

Pandora's voice broke and her eyes moistened as she spoke, and Ron only held her hand tighter.

"So..." she swallowed. "Once my sister was old enough, he became harsher with her like he was with mum and me, says he was teaching her important life lessons, and mum took a stand against that and told him to leave us alone and that she was finished with him, she didn't need him anymore. He wasn't stupid, though. He caught on real quick...saw the hope in our eyes as she opposed him and knew that it was only a matter of time before we started opposing him too...so one day, took mum in their room..." the tears pooling in her sad eyes escaped and leaked freely down her cheeks and she forced herself to look Ron in the eye. "All I heard was her scream and then...nothing."

A heart-breaking sob erupted from her throat as everything she tried to hide all her life spilled out in painful gasps. "So it was...me and my sister...on our own...against this...monster...and I learned how to defend us. That's why i defend myself well, that's why I build these damn walls around me...and I started fighting back...for her...and she got frightened and begged me...to stop because he would do to me what he did to mum...so I sent her away...to a good family...so she would be safe..." Pandora shook uncontrollably and Ron wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight against him.

"I-I tried so h-hard, he still b-beat me but I n-never backed away until these b-bloody robed people told m-me I'm a witch and now I f-found you but he's still there and I-I d-don't want him to g-get you, don't want anyone to g-get you..."

She was inaudible after that. Ron held onto her even tighter, running his hand through her hair and making what he thought were soothing sounds like his mum used to do with him. He absorbed what she had told him, tried to make sense of it. All he knew now was that he wanted to hurt her father more than he had wanted to hurt anyone in his life. He now understood why she was the way that she was, why she pushed so many people away, and why, once she let them in, she was suddenly so protective. He vowed to himself not to let anyone else hurt her for as long as he could.

He was brought back to the common room when he heard her shuddering breaths and felt her body shivering even more violently than before. Moving slowly so as not to wake her, he settled into the corner of the large couch and gently pulled her curled form against his, her hand never releasing its surprising grip on his jumper.

**Merlin's pants, over 3,000 words...haven't done that in while! But I couldn't think of anywhere else to end it...let me know what ya think =) Personally, I`d say this is my favourite chapter so far, as it shows what Pandora truly is underneath all those barriers she builds. What are your thoughts? Until next time on...UNEXPECT THE EXPECTEDDDDD! (still tired...)**

**P.S. Yes, I did make up the unrecognizable spells in this chappy and will continue to do so because it's fun =D Apologies to anyone who actually knows Latin (not from an internet translator page) and sees numerous mistakes; if so, let me know and I will fix them IMEDIATLY. **


	11. Being a flower or an insect of some sort

**Oh my Rowling, over 4,000 words...good news though =) It did not feel like I typed 4,000 words...so it should be a good solid chapter to read if you have nothing better to do =) I am actually quite proud of this chapter. A lot happens =) SO. Let me know what you think! Hope ya don't fall asleep on your hand whilst you read and accidentally hit that review button with your chin _**

**:::**

Stiff necked, tired and a little too warm, Ron awoke early on Monday morning. The common room was still quite dark, though the window overlooking the Black Lake allowed a dark sunset to peak through the window. _Bloody hell, had that really been just yesterday? _As Ron recalled the events of the day before, his innocent walk with Pandora that morning seemed a lifetime ago. She told him why she hadn't come to this school earlier, told him about her childhood, which he realized now had been disrupted by lies. He could not blame her; he supposed he caught her off guard, asked her something too private in public.

As he thought of the truth of the situation, rage boiled inside him once again at her father. At this point, he cared not that there were tests to be written and homework to be completed, and that the consequences of failure at both resulted in torture; he knew that Pandora and Hermione would do fine.

His thoughts were disturbed as he felt Pandora stir beside him. He looked down at her for the first time and saw her face peaceful and relaxed, yet streaked with tears blackened from her eye makeup. He quickly cleaned her makeup and tears away with his wand, wanting her to keep her pride should someone wake early and totter into the common room. For the first time since he's known her, he saw what she truly looked like underneath her mask.

She looked gorgeous as ever; her natural skin colour shining through radiantly and her full, slightly pink lips were, he thought, perfect and he wondered briefly why she covered her face so heavily. Had her father told her she was ugly, too?

Stuffing his anger, he made to move from her side so she would be able to lie down properly but the hand that had been lying so innocently on his chest had clenched into a fist around his jumper again, thus making him immobile. He relaxed in her clutches for mere seconds before tensing up once more as her eyes squeezed together and she moved in closer to him. Ron gulped nervously and attempted to release her hold of his jumper, but it was as if she was aware of his actions and tightened her grip further.

Suddenly, she jumped upright and looked around wildly, focussed on Ron's face quite close to hers and leaped away from him, forgetting her iron grip on his jumper in the process. Ron found himself thrown across the couch and on top of Pandora from the force of her escape. She gasped, eyes wide, and had it not been for the surprisingly quick moment, Ron may have laughed at her maroon coloured cheeks. He swiftly lifted himself off of her and sat up a little too straight at the far end of the couch, her doing the same.

Pandora placed her hands on her burning cheeks and her eyes widened even more as her hands swept through her tangled hair. She began fanning herself slightly, stopped abruptly, and covered her eyes. Ron watched in amusement as this process repeated itself a few times before he spoke up.

"Do you need a moment? A glass of cold water, perhaps?"

Ron smirked as Pandora glared at him, her cheeks flushed pink and her green eyes sharp.

"Oh, maybe toss a snowball at my head. That should do the trick." She sighed. "It's not as if it's my fault, Weasley. You have a very hot body!"

Ron didn't know whether to burst into laughter or melt away into the couch from embarrassment, though Pandora looked like she wanted to do the latter. Her cheeks burned red and her eyes were wide as the misspoken words hung in front of her. After several heavy moments, she finally dropped her head into her hands and shook it back and forth.

"I meant-" she mumbled into her hands. "-I meant...I didn't mean it like...your inner temperature is-"

"I understand, Pandora!" Laughed Ron. "Thank you, though."

Pandora shot him a dirty look and rose stiffly from her seat, promptly ignoring Ron as she passed him. She was soon stopped by his hand on her wrist and the seriousness in his eyes.

"Pandora, wait...you can't just...I mean, you...last night..."

Pandora's expression softened at Ron's helpless tone and she sat herself beside him again. She looked at her hands as she spoke.

"Look, Ron...you must understand I have never told anyone about my life before. Besides my sister and my mum, no one else has ever seen me cry." A sad smile crept across her face. "It frightens me how close I feel with you...mostly because with that closeness comes the fear that something will happen to you."

Something new triggered inside Ron, blazing him with a raw bravery that he had never felt before. He reached out his hand and touched Pandora's cheek, forcing her gaze on him. His voice was surprisingly calm as his heart seemed to bound out of his chest.

"Pandora, I'm not going anywhere, all right? So, just stop thinking like that right now." Fear flitted through her eyes. "Do you believe me? I'm not letting you go until you believe me."

A small smile curved on her pink lips. Ron grinned.

"Well, now that we have that settled, I'm going to go clean up. I probably look like hell after last night."

At this, Ron piped up and promptly placed his foot in his mouth. "Oh, I took all that rubbish off earlier. You look better without it actu-"

"You _what_?"

Pandora leaped from the couch and up the stairs to her dormitory, nearly knocking Harry over in the process. He stared after her, bewildered, and proceeded across the common room floor towards Ron only to meet the same expression. They shook their heads and muttered at the same time, "Women."

:::

Although successfully passing her two tests and completing all of her assigned homework, Pandora still came out of both Potions and Charms with rather painful injuries with the excuse that her and Hermione had cheated to achieve the scores they received. The Death Eaters watching each lesson thought it a good idea to use the spells and techniques they were teaching as punishment to demonstrate the strength and power of the things they were learning, although it only made students more reluctant to learn them. Though Pandora found herself sickeningly used to this sort of routine, it ate her up as she saw the looks of anguish stretching across her schoolmates faces as they exited classes.

Heading towards Gryffindor Tower to drop off her bag and spell books, Pandora passed Harry, sporting a bleeding nose and puffy lip, as he made his way towards the Great Hall. Instinctively, she stopped him as gently as possible and looked him directly in the eyes. As she expected, something guarded appeared there, not completely sure of what he saw in front of him.

"What do you want?" His eyes shifted uncertainly as he spoke.

Pandora swept her gaze up and down the nearly empty corridor before replying.

"You don't like me."

Harry blinked. "You've quite a knack for making people uncomfortable with your bluntness, you know that?"

Pandora flashed a grin and folded her arms as the cracks in the stone wall became increasingly more interesting.

"Look, I know...I know that I haven't exactly been all roses and butterflies but...well, if being a flower or an insect of some sort will help you to realize that I'm not all bad, then...what?"

A muffled chuckle erupted from behind Harry's hand as she spoke and he shook his head innocently. "Nothing. Go on."

Pandora raised an eyebrow at him. "What I'm trying to say is I realize that you refuse to completely trust me and-"

"That's only because every time someone offers to help or acts like they're on my side, I end up being stabbed in the back and escape within an inch of my life. So you can see my inner dilemma."

Pandora nodded her head in understanding. "I...know how you feel, Harry. You probably don't believe me. I grew up rather...restricted. So I can understand why it would be hard for you to trust others. But oddly enough, I trust you. I have since the day I arrived here. I don't know why."

Harry continued to scrutinize Pandora with his bright green eyes almost as if expecting her to avert his gaze.

"Ron told me about Voldemort...and your parents, and something about a prophecy. How you are making yourself fulfill it on your own." Harry betrayed nothing. "He mentioned you are figuring out how to destroy him."

Finally, Harry's eyes sharpened and his green eyes became molten poison. "He told you about that, did he?"

Pandora raised an eyebrow at him. "You really should trust your best mate, Potter. Otherwise it's only a matter of time before you no longer trust yourself." Harry eyes boiled beneath his glasses. "No, he told me nothing. Said that you would tell me if you saw fit to."

Harry shook his head slowly. "I've only told Ron and Hermione. Prove to me you're different...prove to me you're trustworthy, and maybe I'll let you in."

"I only wish to help. I ask for nothing."

Harry considered the witch before him for a moment before he spoke his parting words.

"Prove it, first."

:::

Three lessons and four broken fingers later, Pandora trudged up the steps towards the Gryffindor tower. Students filtered towards their own common rooms, a hopeless gloom hovering over their heads. It was to her understanding that letters from home were no longer being received and letters sent out from the school were simply scorched by Death Eaters. People everywhere worried for their families and stressed about where their lives now stood: in the hands of the Dark Lord, in the palms of the Death Eaters, and in the eye of despair. Pandora began to feel the familiar pressure of depression settle over her heart, but something unknown acted as a shield, something she was unfamiliar with.

Thinking of the possibilities of such an obstacle, Pandora's attention was not on where her feet were taking her and she found herself face to face with Ginny, clearly preoccupied with an arm full of notes and a quill. She nearly snarled as she discovered her path was blocked and looked up into Pandora's eyes. A faint fiery light lit up in her deep brown eyes as she considered her obstacle and brushed past Pandora, colliding shoulders as she resumed her pace. Pandora turned and eyed her oddly as a scientist would eye an enigma. She shook her head and made to head towards the next staircase, nearly jumping out of her skin when she found Ron right in front of her. Clutching her heart, she slapped him across the chest and glared at him angrily.

"Do you bloody Weasley's have to sneak up everywhere?"

Ron watched, bemused, as Pandora took off the down corridor in an angry huff.

After muttering a quick 'shadowheart' to the Fat Lady, Pandora finally collapsed into a lumpy chair near the stairs and withdrew her wand from the inside pocket of her robes. A few painful moments and four muttered 'episkey's later, her fingers felt whole and limber. Pandora knew the rest of her house was in the Great Hall, stuffing down their food as quick as they could and escaping the looks of the Death Eaters. She found herself uninterested in food at the moment and instead gazed into the comforting fire across the room.

It wasn't long before witches and wizards of varying ages trickled in the common room, the occasional greeting passing from one to Pandora as they passed her. Most, Pandora noticed, were limping or had blood stained on their robes from injuries to their face; it seemed the Death Eaters were bent on making sure everyone saw the marks that their torture created.

After nearly half an hour, Ron, Hermione nor Harry had returned from the Great Hall and Pandora began to worry. She knew they were up to something and could only imagine the punishment they would go through if they got caught. She eventually sifted through a random text book and pretended to study it as the hours passed and one by one the Gryffindors headed up to their dormitories. She spent the last two hours trying desperately to cling onto a conversation with Lavender about Lord knows what and found herself greatly relieved when her mouth opened into a yawn instead of another discussion on Margaret Salina's newest line of dress shoes. With much insistence on Pandora's part, the blonde girl made her way up to their dorms with a promise that she would wait up for Pandora. Which is why she all but flew out of the common room through the portrait hole and into the dark, cold corridor.

She saw her breath mist out before her as she exhaled and shivered involuntarily. It seemed Dementors patrolled the castle at night in search for those who attempted escape. Swiftly and steadily, she slithered down the corridors, not knowing where exactly she would go but sure she wouldn't be disappointed in her travels. Going by instinct alone, Pandora descended two sets of stairs and eased along a few corridors unrecognizable by the night. After finding nothing of interest for nearly an hour, she flew down a few more flights of steps until she no longer recognized her surroundings and found the air stiffer and colder than before. She must have been near the first floor where the most Dementors protected the front doors.

After what seemed like hours and miles taking its toll on her burning body, she spotted a faint white light, blurred by what appeared to be a window. She instantly recognized this area as the library and then many things happened at that moment: Harry, Ron and Hermione's faces were illuminated by the light of the wand as they looked right into Pandora's eyes when several Dementors appeared from what seemed out of nowhere and the last thing Pandora saw in her mind's eye was her mother being knifed down, her sister being taken away and her father minimizing her hope with every single blow.

"...if we just use-"

"No, can't risk it right now. Just hide it 'till we get back."

"But I have it with me right now, we could just-"

"Look, I want to get rid of it just as much as you do, and I know there is no proper place to, but this is hardly the time right now. It's too dangerous. They may be on their way right now if we aren't quiet. We're too tall for this thing, Harry..."

"That was quite the scream; I'm surprised the whole school isn't crowding around, actually..."

"Ron, don't be such an insensitive git."

"Look, she's waking up now. Can we-"

"Not in this hall, Harry!"

Three dark figures came into focus as Pandora regained consciousness. She felt drained of energy, dehydrated and extremely cold. With a violent shudder, she shot up and almost knocked one of them in the face. Her vision doubled and she flopped herself unceremoniously back onto the hard floor with a groan.

"Eat this, Pandora. Trust me, you'll feel better."

Pandora fumbled in the dark for whatever Hermione was offering her but finally someone grabbed her hand and stuffed something hard into her hand.

"Wazzit?"

"Chocolate. Eat it, go on."

Pandora bit a chunk of the sweet food and instantly felt more energetic. With a grunt, she sat up properly and squinted at the dark shapes surrounding her.

"What the bloody hell happened?"

She noticed one of them wringing their hands nervously and immediately assumed Hermione.

"Pandora, haven't you ever...performed a Patronus before?"

Pandora's eyes tried to seek one of the other two figures in the darkness for Ron but found only silhouettes. "N-no. Never quite g-got the hang of it."

Although a sheet of darkness blinded her, Pandora could almost hear Hermione exchanging looks with the other two.

"I know that you haven't been learning magic for very long, but I've seen some of the spells you've done and I know you can do it. It's almost essential now because of the state of the school. Now, all you need is a happy memory. There must be something strong en-"

"Hey, Hermione, we should really get out of this corridor. I thought I heard something."

Pandora found that Ron was to Hermione's left and offered him a weak smile she knew he would not see.

"You're right." Ron gasped in mock horror. "Can you walk?"

"'Course I can walk. I was-"

"I was talking to Pandora, Ronald."

"Oh. Er...right."

Pandora chuckled weakly. "You two could be a comedy act." She grunted as she rose. "Yeah, I'm fine to walk."

The four of them walked down the corridor underneath what appeared to be a cloak barely covering them at all to the first flight of stairs in silence until Pandora's head felt heavy from all the questions that filled her head.

"Still don't know what the bloody hell is going on. I mean...I think I know why you were in the library, I just can't remember anything after that...except something about danger...and doing it now? But that makes no sense..."

"Well...you sort of passed out because of the Dementors. It was weird...all we saw was you for a brief moment and then you just seemed to disappear..."

Ron's voice faded as he spoke and, to Pandora's surprise, Harry carried on.

"I just instinctively cast a Patronus...that's all that happened, really. It took you a few minutes to gain consciousness."

Pandora nodded absently as they continued down another corridor and up one more flight of stairs.

"Thank you."

Harry was silent, but Pandora knew he was conflicted when it came to her. They soon stopped outside a bit of blank wall that Pandora recognized and attempted to eye the trio.

"What...are we doing here?"

In her mind she saw Hermione fidgeting with her hands as she considered her response.

"What...what we have to do here, Pandora, we have to do alone. I'm sorry-" Pandora swore she heard Harry say 'don't be sorry' under his breath as Hermione paused. "-but this is something the three of us have to do alone."

Pandora nodded in understanding and was just about to slide out from underneath the cloak when Ron's voice stopped her.

"No. There are too many Dementors out there and you can't defend yourself against them yet. It's too dangerous."

Pandora felt the waves of anger from Harry but decided to speak before he said something he would regret.

"Never felt so bloody fragile in my life...look, it's your business what you do on your own, so I'll just stay out here. All right?"

After a moment of speaking through their eyes, Harry finally spoke.

"Yeah. Right. Take this, then."

He slid the cloak off and handed it to Pandora. It looked odd in his hand. Like she could almost see the floor through the cloak itself.

"Err...thanks but, I'm not cold anymore."

Harry rolled his eyes. "It's an Invisibility Cloak. Just put the bloody thing on." Pandora did as she was told and draped it over herself. "And don't steal it, eh?"

"Harry!"

Pandora flinched at how close Hermione now sounded. She watched as he walked by the Room three times and saw the great black door appear seemingly out of nowhere. Harry pushed through, followed closely by Hermione who was almost tailed by Ron until he stopped and looked around in Pandora's general area.

"For Merlin's sake, would you please be careful?"

Pandora grinned. "No promises."

Ron flashed a tight smile before walking into the Room of Requirement where the doors immediately shut behind him. It was deadly silent in the dark corridor. Almost too silent. It unnerved her as she remembered the calm before the storm. She heard nothing in the imaginary room behind her for nearly ten minutes until a blood curdling scream erupted from behind the door. Pandora whipped around and stared hopelessly at the wall, not knowing how she could possibly enter. All rational thought gone from her mind, Pandora pounded on the hard wall with her protesting fists and attempted to scratch at it when that proved futile. She drew her wand and muttered 'reducto' over and over again but to no avail. To her horror, the screaming was cut drastically short and then there was silence. A stray tear streaked down her cheek as she stared at the wall, her hands clutching its cracks.

She leaped away from stone as it moved beneath her fingers and soon became a door. She yanked the Cloak off of her and glared at the trio that emerged, slightly shaky but otherwise all right. A severely damaged diamond tiara hung limply in Harry's hand.

"You three nearly gave me a bloody heart attack! What the hell was all the screaming? What did you-"

Her sentence was broken off as an amused Ron stepped forward and gently wiped her tear away from her cheek with his thumb. "Didn't scare you, did we?"

Pandora's eyes became acid. "No, I pound madly on walls all day just for the fuck of it."

Behind Ron, Harry tried to hide a smirk and exchanged an amused expression with Hermione.

Ron's eyes hardened as he looked into Pandora's. "Are you all right?"

Pandora blinked. "'M fine."

He raised an eyebrow at her but remained silent as Harry spoke.

"What...what do we do with it?"

Ron turned to face the other two. "How 'bout the Forest? It'd eventually just be buried by leaves and branches, right?"

The three of them looked at each other for a mere moment before Harry nodded sharply. "Right. We'll do that when we visit Hagrid. Not-"

"STUPEFY!"

The Death Eater sneaking up on the small group flew back from the power of Pandora's spell and hit the corridor wall, unconscious. Brief glances were exchanged before the group took off down the corridor and bounded up the staircases until they reached Gryffindor tower. Panting, Hermione and Pandora leaned against the wall while Harry and Ron clutched their knees and caught their breath.

"Th-thanks." gasped Harry.

Pandora's head shot up in Harry's direction. "No prob'm."

Moments later, they straightened up and glanced quickly around the corridor.

"Are you four going to stand there all night and risk punishment or do you feel like coming inside for a visit?" snapped the Fat Lady.

Hermione whipped around. "Sorry. _Shadowheart_."

"Very well."

:::

"Where were you last night? I stayed down here for hours waiting for you."

Ron attempted to sink into the couch as his sister's piercing gaze swept across him, Harry and Hermione in turn. She huffed impatiently sat down where she stood in front of the fireplace.

"Look, if you are out...fulfilling Dumbledore's mission in the middle of the night, you could get in so much trouble. If they found out exactly what you were up to, they might even kill you." She tilted her head to look directly at Harry. "I know what you'll say, but you need more help. We'll all help if you need it. You can't keep hiding things from us all."

Unfortunately for Harry, Ginny caught his quick glance in Pandora's direction where she sat innocently at a small table, her head leaning on her hand as she perused a worn book. She followed his look and narrowed her eyes at what she saw.

"So...you'll let her in on your secret, but not me, is that right?"

"Ginny, she was-"

"Look, red, do you have a problem with me?"

Pandora was sitting stick straight in her chair and her eyes burned into Ginny's skull. Ginny stood to her full height, five inches shy of Pandora's, straightened her shoulders and faced her head on. Ron felt sick.

"My name is Ginny, Witte. And yes, I do."

Pandora calmly rose from her seat and stepped out from behind the table. The room had gone silent. Ron felt frightened.

"Spit it out, then. Don't let it manifest itself inside."

"If you think you can show up here and win everyone's heart, you're in for a rude awakening, princess!"

"I wasn't exactly welcome with open arms, in case you haven't noticed, Ginny. It took me a few moments for people to warm up to the monster you see before you now."

"Don't think I'll be quite as forgiving then! You tell Hermione off, you yell at my brother...I mean, has everyone conveniently forgotten this? You spent four weeks just glaring at anyone who so much as blinked and now it seems one good deed has redeemed you of many more faults?"

"YOU TRY BEING RIPPED FROM EVERYTHING YOU KNOW AND FORCED INTO A BUILDING WHERE PEOPLE YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW JUDGE YOU AS YOU PASS THEM! IT'S NOT ALL RAINBOWS AND UNICORNS, DESPITE HOW WONDERFUL IT MAY SOUND TO YOU!"

"DOESN'T MEAN YOU GO-"

"AND SINCE WHEN IS THERE A PERSON ALIVE WHO HAS NO FAULTS? WHO HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG, HAS NO REGRETS? LOOK ME IN THE EYE AND TELL ME YOU HAVE NEVER MADE A MISTAKE!"

"I'VE NEVER PUSHED PEOPLE AWAY FROM ME WHO ARE ONLY TRYING TO HELP, AND YOU GO-"

"Ginny, wait, you don't underst-"

"STAY OUT OF THIS, RONALD!" Pandora and Ginny yelled at the same time, never taking their eyes off each other.

Ron was feeling nauseous. His sister and his troubled friend were mere inches away, all but spitting in their faces as they argued. They had not uttered a word since their request to Ron, but Pandora's eyes were boiling poison and Ginny's were deadly acid.

**:::**

**What did you think? I am truly curious! What about Pandora and Ginny's argument? Who do you agree with? The next couple of chapters will be pretty full and eventful so I'm looking forward to getting it all out of my mind and into this text =)**


	12. Attack them with maneating firs

**Another day, another chapter. As promised, a lot happens! Now, it has come to my attention that some of you may be confused by what happened when the Trio went into the ROR and by Ginny's anger towards Pandora. I feel by explaining myself I have failed you as an author BUT I shall continue stronger than ever! Now, with the ROR scene, Pandora was pounding on the wall, or ROR door, because she heard the scream from inside the Room and simply lost her mind because she thought it was one of them. I TRIED to tie this into what happened with her mother, hence the scream being dramatically cut off. As for Ginny, she never bothered with Pandora because the whole school was already against her and, let's face it, I never really needed her. But after Pandora helps Hermione, everyone sings her praises and this pisses Ginny right off because she believes she shouldn't get off that easy and just snaps. It was supposed to be sudden. I apologize that it that was not clear. I shall hit myself in the head with a lamp shade and stick my fingers in the oven. That being said, Pandora and Ginny's relationship is incredibly odd. It's ok to be confused; you are in Ron's POV atm. Enjoy =)**

**Disclaimer – Just 'cause it's been awhile, I own Pandora and nothing else...maybe some of the plot.**

It all started when Ginny cracked the tiniest of smiles. Pandora caught the same sick little inside joke and tried to muffle a fit of giggles until Ginny finally lost it and burst into manic laughter, soon joined by Pandora. Ron dared not move. He daren't even blink, for fear he may be either dreaming or going mad. In a matter of moments, Pandora was leaning on Ginny's back, hardly able to stand, clutching her ribs as she gasped for breath. The room felt very tense, as if something might explode at any given moment.

So, that's where Ron was now. Studying furiously for the DADA exam next week while Pandora and his sister, Ginny, chatted animatedly over Merlin knows what; he had tuned them out hours ago. A part of him was still rather frightened that the imaginary ticking time bomb that seemed to surround them was going to go off at any time, but he paid that fear no attention. They talked like they were lifelong friends, Ginny about Quidditch and certain Ministry topics and Pandora about Muggle life and some sport called Rugby, which she, he thought, foolishly compared to his wizarding sport. Hermione was buried in a book on a large chair by the entrance, Harry was combining brains with Seamus and Dean in the middle of the room, and for the first time in weeks, the atmosphere felt normal.

:::

"...I was only twelve when we went, but it was so exciting! We had never actually been anywhere for vacation. It was really all dad's idea too, it was brilliant." Ginny finished telling Pandora about her vacation to Egypt with a wistful grin and suddenly looked expectantly at her. "So, what about you? Have you been anywhere fascinating?"

Pandora chuckled. "I went to the fair near my town, once. Now, that was an eventful day. My sister went on so many rides, she upchucked her whole lunch on a poor boy in front of her."

Ginny chuckled. "Where is your sister now, then? At home?"

Pandora swallowed a lump in her throat and tried to grin. "Yeah...too young for this school, she is."

Ginny seemed to accept her response and grinned excitedly. "Are you going home for the holidays next week, or...?"

Pandora drew her eyebrows together in confusion. "Or...?"

Ginny huffed. "What I'm _trying _to say is you should stay with us for Christmas! Unless, you can't, or some rubbish like that."

Pandora smiled. "I...Ginny, that's too much. I know Harry and Hermione are going, and you have such a large family already. It'd probably give your mum a heart attack-"

"It never stopped her before, trust me! Come on, she'd love to meet you!" Pandora bit her lip. "I know you'd love it." She shifted her eyes uncertainly. "She makes the _best _food. She'll treat you like her own daughter. You won't even know you're away from home." Pandora raised an eyebrow as Ginny continued to beg. "_Please_?"

Pandora huffed and grinned at her, which earned a hug from Ginny. She glanced at Ron over Ginny's shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him as he mouthed an apology.

:::

Sunday evening found Ron quite literally buried in books and parchment as he sat cross legged in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. The last week before Christmas holidays started tomorrow and the round room was stuffed with nearly every Gryffindor the school held. A dull murmur filled the space as everyone appeared to be drowning in half the library.

Pandora sat curled up in the large armchair on the other side of the fire place, spell books piled up in front of her and nearly two feet of parchment lay out on her lap. Her black, sleek, wavy hair cascaded across her shoulder and over her face, where she repeatedly tucked it behind her ear. Her sharp green eyes followed her hand back and forth across the parchment and to and from her writing to the text book she was reading from. Her soft lips were slightly parted and they occasionally mouthed the words she was copying. He remembered the evening she arrived at the school, scowling, straight backed and short tempered. Now her expression was slightly relaxed, her back was more curved and natural as she bent over her work, and she was warm and friendly towards those she cared for.

He thought about the last three months. Ron would admit only to himself that he had felt an attraction to her that first night. He thought it an odd sort of obsession, or a desire to figure out exactly who she was and just when he thought he knew all about her, she turned around and surprised him again, enticing him to learn even more about her. He was realizing now he may never learn everything about her and the frightening thing was that he was willing to take the time. He felt...odd around her. Unbelievably happy and incredibly nervous. Brilliantly confident and surprisingly self conscious. Amazingly satisfied yet knowing he could never get enough. He had never felt so much at one time; he hardly thought it possible. Sometimes, he felt he might explode. He had half a mind to ask Harry if this is what he felt when he was around Ginny, but thought better of it until Pandora was on his good side.

He jumped when Pandora looked up from her frivolous studying right into Ron's eyes and he flashed a quick grin and looked down into his lap, blushing. This happened quite a lot lately. He found himself being caught staring too often and was surprised she hadn't told him off yet. It wasn't his fault; he couldn't help it anymore. His eyes betrayed him and just naturally wandered in her direction.

After ten minutes, or it could have been three hours, he was losing track of time, the crowd in the common room dissipated, Harry had come and went, looking exhausted and pained, and he was not surprised to find Pandora and Hermione in the exact same spots, still pouring over more books. He waited until he heard a yawn and muffled 'good night' from Hermione before he stood from his nest of books and stretched, wincing at the cracks and snaps his joints made. Pandora looked up then and smirked.

"Not tired, are you? It's early, yet."

Ron chuckled. "Oh, not tired at all. Let me at tho...oooohhnnggg...those books."

With a wave of her wand, Pandora set the books used by her and Ron on a fair sized table near the opposite corner and laughed at his yawn.

"Right, you look ready to fight a war."

Ron stiffened and avoided her gaze as he pretended to gather his quill and ink from his spot. He set them on the couch and turned to Pandora, gazing blankly at a book in her hand titled _One-Hundred Uses of the Unforgivables_.

"Pandora?"

She jumped and dropped the book as he startled her out of her reverie. "Hmm?"

Ron hesitated in asking his question as he did not want to bring her back to that day in the room with the pictures on the walls. "That...that day I took you into the Room of Requirement..."

Pandora raised an eyebrow at him and her voice was sharp, like the biting chill of a winter morning. "What about it?"

Ron gulped and looked her straight in the eye. "I-I couldn't help but notice a...hollow, wooden thing with this long handle and some sort of wire or-"

"Guitar." She told him evenly. "What about it?"

Ron blinked. "Gi-tar?"

Pandora features softened as Ron tried to wrap his mouth around the word. "Guitar, Ron. What. About. It?"

For some reason, this seemed to be as equal a touchy subject as her family was. "What does it do? Why was it in there?"

Pandora sighed bent down to pick up the book she dropped. "It plays music. Relaxes me"

"Can you get that anywhere near here?"

Pandora chuckled and replaced the book on the pile she made earlier. "No, not in the wizarding world. Probably the closest place is somewhere in London. Why do you ask?"

Ron shrugged and tried to look nonchalant. ""Just wondering...dunno much about the Muggle world, see."

Pandora nodded and did something he never expected of her: she walked up to him, unable to meet his eye, and wrapped her arm around his waist in a small half-hug. "G'night, Ron."

Before she could leave his side, he wrapped his own arms around her back and pulled her into his chest, her own arms moving uncertainly around his frame. Their chins rested on each other's shoulders and Ron was certain she could feel his heart beat frantically against his rib cage. He even allowed himself to think he could feel her heart beat erratically as well. "'Night, Pandora."

She gently pulled away, looking rather awkward, and headed up the stairs to her dormitory without another word or glance. Once again bursting with odd feelings, Ron felt ecstatic and slightly embarrassed and confused and happy...he needed to get that looked at.

:::

Pandora awoke before the sun the next morning despite her late night of studying with Ron. She shook her head, remembering she had never actually studied _with _Ron, and contemplated why she would mentally include him in such a meaningless act. Running her hands through her tangled hair, Pandora took the time she had alone to think about the night before and analyze the actions that occurred.

Ron had been caught repeatedly looking in her direction for the last several hours of the night and early into the morning. This, she grudgingly admitted, was an annoyingly regular occurrence in her life and was not one of the many things picking away at her brain, like why, underneath those intense cobalt blue eyes, there lay brash uncertainty and a pittance of self consciousness mixed with a trifle of what could be interpreted as fondness. She had never seen a blend of such emotions directed at her before, and it threw her way of thinking off kilter. Maybe the way her brain felt scattered at that moment could explain her attempt at a hug before she went up to bed, although no one could ever describe clear enough the reason why he wilfully wrapped his arms about her and pulled her against his tall frame. Pandora still remembered how it felt to have Ron's heart trying to beat itself free against her chest while her own heart betrayed her as it reciprocated. She felt frustrated that she couldn't understand what was happening to her own body, as if she was a new and different type of excited when he spoke, or looked into her eyes, or said her name. She huffed in exasperation, cursing her vast vocabulary's failure to articulate one silly emotion.

Mentally beating the portion of the brain that was supposed to control her emotions, Pandora slid out of bed and trudged toward the shower, allowing the hot, somewhat earthy water to wash away the nights' thoughts so as to make way for the days' exams. After changing into her robes and applying the usual dark cover around her eyes, she scooped her heavy bag over her shoulder and staggered down the staircase towards the common room much too early for her fellow house mates.

The morning sunlight scorched the sky, burning it with the deepest of purples and bloodiest of reds. The occasional bird or magical creature of some sort interrupted the autumn morning horizon. As Pandora gazed out the tall window, she found herself caring about the school and the ancient building. It was not like it had anything to offer her, really, besides shelter. But, it was the first place she felt truly happy in so long, a place where she had people who cared about her, a place where she learned new things and gave her a chance for a future beyond her little town. It was also a place where horrors were happening, where people now suffered and hurt and worried about their loved ones while they were being imprisoned in a place of freedom and growth. Pandora was surprised by how angry and distraught she felt, as if the school was Hermione and the Death Eaters were attacking her before everyone's eyes, desperate for help.

Pandora quite nearly jumped out of her skin when a deep voice interrupted her thoughts. "Pretty wicked, eh?"

Ron chuckled at her response and leaned his back against the wall beside the window. "Now, is giving your friends a heart attack the first thing on your to-do list for the morning, or do you simply improvise?"

Her heart beat rather oddly as his lop-sided grin spread across his face. "Nah, I mostly improvise with you. You always muddle up my to-do list, anyways."

Pandora raised her eyebrow at the ginger boy before her. "Is that so?"

Ron nodded confidently and looked her in the eye, amusement etching his face. "It is so. You're impossible to predict. A list would be pointless."

Pandora folded her arms over her chest and rested her shoulder against the stone surrounding the window, her eyes never leaving his. "You aren't exactly as predictable as a puppy, yourself. What I need you to be predictable at you seem to fail me every time."

Ron leaned away from the wall and faced her, that playful grin never leaving his face. "And what do you need me to be predictable at?"

Pandora smirked and slowly shook her head, subconsciously stepping toward him as she whispered. "Can't tell you. I'd have to kill you."

Ron took an almost predatory step toward her as well. "Tell me first, and then I'll fight you off."

Another step. "I'd love to see you try, Weasley."

Another. "I'd love to see you resist, Witte."

"Ahem."

Pandora and Ron's faces both whipped toward the bottom of the stairs to find a black-haired, green-eyed boy staring back at them with slight disgust. With a glance, they realized that their rallying had somehow brought them within inches of each other. Taking what she thought to be a nonchalant step away from the window and towards the fireplace, Pandora unsuccessfully avoided Harry's eye. Ron forcefully cleared his throat and spoke in what he thought to be an uplifting tone.

"So...you off to Hagrid's?"

"Yeah, I am. What about you, are you off?"

Pandora could feel both of their gazes on her back at that moment but chose to ignore them.

"Yeah, maybe I am off."

Silence filled the room and Pandora could not control herself any longer. She whipped around to see them glaring at one another, nearly ten feet apart, unspoken words passing through their eyes.

"Ron, go."

He glanced at her, an unasked question on his face as Harry headed towards the portrait hole. She sighed in exasperation and walked towards him with the intent of pushing him out of the common room.

"Would you just bloody go, you stubborn git?"

Ron gathered his bag and glared at her. "I don't need your permission to-"

"Clearly, you do. Go to this Hagrid with your best mate!"

Ron eyed her oddly before pushing the portrait open and running to catch up with Harry. Pandora let out a breath she was unaware was held. The last thing she needed to do was come in between two people who have known each other for seven years.

:::

It was pandemonium. Rumours flew like wildfire through the corridors about the end of term exams, like questions that asked for the uses of Dementors, potions that turned your marrow into dust, and plants that fed off of human eyes. Pandora shook her head; it was absurd, what the truth could escalate to when fear took control, especially when they had learned no such things in their lessons. The thought flittered through her mind that maybe the professors had held back on certain material and the Death Eaters were maniacal enough to use a certain lack of knowledge as a reason to punish and torture when no one answered correctly on the exams. Like they needed a reason? Maybe she was thinking too much. As if they had such detailed plans in mind.

Early afternoon saw Pandora's first exam, Defence against the Dark Arts. She was disappointed to see Larvil in Anastasia's place, his pointed glare roaming the Great Hall in deep distaste. No words were spoken as the students filed in between the desks and set their things down. A long piece of parchment settled down in front of everyone and the exam was silently started. Pandora looked down and read the first question. _Name the six uses of Dementors. _

:::

It started when she was asked to perform the cross-eyed hex. It was simple enough. She would perform it on a trembling third-year student. But her lips found the word _Pulmopactum_ and her wand found Larvil, and the pain that would surely follow her disobedience was a grain of rice compared to the satisfaction she felt as he fell to his knees, clutching his throat, and knowing the castor of the spell was the only one to release the spell only increased her mad hysteria and only then did she agree to left the spell as they promised to set the innocent third-year boy free.

It was as if a wall had been broken. Students of any year soon stood their ground and shoved the dark spells down the throats of Voldemort's followers, but not without punishment. They were becoming stronger, Pandora realized. They were becoming immune to the pain, realized the damage they were doing to the power the Death Eaters held was diminishing as they were being tortured for defiance. She was proud of them. Though nothing could prepare her for that night she saw their faces.

Just coming back from her Transfiguration exam, which consisted of her turning the 'professor' into something between a snake and a platypus, she had passed Lavender, barely recognizable underneath her bruises and swollen eye, but walking with a certain spring in her step. An odd girl she heard others call 'Loony' Lovegood was limping, missing a shoe, and had her gooey, red blood caked in her hair, but a small smile that said she knew something that Pandora didn't curved her pale face. The fat lady covering the Gryffindor tower had her frame ripped out and the edges of her painting were torn, but she looked in mighty good spirits as she admitted Pandora into the common room. As her eyes briefly scanned the room, her hands flew to her mouth to stifle a gasp. Dean Thomas was getting his broken fingers repaired by Seamus, who was having his heavily bleeding forehead dabbed at by Parvati, whose slashed leg kept her on one knee. A second year by the name of William Shaw was being consoled by fifth year Melanie Hackson whose sister, Allison, was curled up in the corner of the common room, rocking back and forth.

Pandora's eyes finally settled on Ron, one eye swollen shut, his nose bleeding, and his shoulder bent at an odd angle. His focus was solely on the fire. Hermione was wiping blood from her lips with the sleeve of her ripped jumper. Harry was sitting opposite Ginny in the cushioned seats beside the staircase, torn and bleeding, looking into each other's eyes, some sort of silent conversation being spoken. Shaking her head, Pandora stalked up to the couch and sat down beside Ron, who leaped nearly a foot into the air and grasped his arm.

"Bloody hell, you scared the bollocks outta me."Pandora raised her hands in innocence as he returned to his seat. "Brilliant, eh?"

Pandora nodded as she glanced around the room. "Brings a whole new meaning to being a Gryffindor, doesn't it?" Ron nodded. "You all look like hell."

He snorted. "You don't exactly look fresh as morning dew."

Pandora subconsciously rubbed at the dried blood on her chin and glanced at Ron. "So what the bloody hell did you go and do yourself?"

Ron chuckled humourlessly. "Almost killed one of them, actually. Must have put a bit of fright in them, 'cause they had quite a go at me. Tried laughing just the take the mickey out of them...think it came out more like a yelp."

Pandora sighed. "They dislocated your shoulder, didn't they?"

"Oh, is that what that is? Thought they gave me an extra bone."

"Oh, don't get snarky with me. Let me see."

Ron tentatively released the hold he had on his arm and allowed Pandora to inspect him. With a finger, she gently traced the outside of the socket where his shoulder should have been, and grazed over where his arm now hung, near his chest. Sighing, she glanced at his curious face. "Do you trust me?"

Such a simple question, but it seemed so much weighed on the answer. After a few moments of silence, she looked up into his face and searched the eye that wasn't swollen for an answer. His intense gaze captured her and made it impossible to look away until he spoke. "I trust you."

Pandora flashed a tight smile before gesturing him to stand. "Alright, walk over to that wall." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, I've done this before." He obliged and stood beside the wall near the portrait hole, waiting expectantly. "Face the wall; cover your face with your good arm. Right, turn your head away from me." Ron was flush against the cool wall, his head facing his good shoulder and his other shoulder hanging limp at his side. "Now...this is going to hurt quite a bit. About as much as it hurt when it happened. But I assure you, there is really no painless way. So, I've warned you."

She felt Ron stiffen as stood against his back and pressed her right hand against his chest, carefully searching for his shoulder. Taking a deep breath, subconsciously blowing on his exposed neck, she placed her left hand against his shoulder blade and braced herself as she leaned in and whispered gently in his ear. "Deep breath." She felt his chest expand and immediately pushed as hard as she could against his back while simultaneously pulling his shoulder towards her with her other hand. Ron howled and scrunched his face in pain just as Pandora's hands gently massaged his torn muscles. His breathing evened out and he pulled away from the wall, eyes still scrunched.

"Motherfu-"

:::

Pandora was free of exams until Wednesday morning, but the time in between pained her more than the torture the Death Eaters dished out. Gryffindors walked out of the common room nearly healed and limped back in with fresh injuries by the hour. She spent her afternoon looking after any injured to the best of her abilities alongside a sixth year by the name of Sue – something and Ginny. Some frowned at Pandora's odd Muggle remedies, but most were grateful for the help she offered and it helped her pass the time quickly. By early evening, she was beginning to worry. People were missing, Ron being one of them, and Hermione had snuck out, against the protests of Harry, Ron and Pandora, to find out what was happening to them or where they were being kept. And so Pandora waited, alone in a corner, her leg restless as it tapped the carpeted floor. Moments passed like hours until students began to ascend the steps to their dormitories into the wee hours of the morning, just as Ron limped through the portrait hole leading a small group of first and second years who were flanked by Hermione. Pandora's body jumped into life, her heart pounding against her ribcage and her blood rushing to her face. She leaped from her position against the wall and threw herself against Ron, knocking him back a few steps with the force of her embrace before his arms returned the unexpected hug. Pandora ripped herself away from him before he could enjoy the moment and slapped his chest.

"Don't you _ever _do that to me again, Weasley! I sit here, worrying my –"

Ron sighed at Pandora's tirade and did something that utterly bewildered her: he took her hand and placed it over his heart, which beat just as frantically as Pandora's under her hand. "I'm fine. I can breath, I can see, I can smell...I can even walk." Her small smile betrayed her dark glare as he spoke. "I was trying to find them –" he gestured to the small children slowly making their way to their beds with Hermione's aid. "- after the exams. Turns out Madam Pomfrey is using the Room of Requirement as the new Hospital 'cause the bloody Death Eaters are controlling the Hospital Wing, corrupting ingredients. It's just for serious injuries, though. Anything that can't be healed in the common room should go there. You walk by it three times and think, 'I need a place to die'."

Pandora blinked. "That sounds a bit morbid."

Ron chuckled darkly. "Yeah, but it's quite hard to find by mistake. Who's gonna walk around thinking that? Especially a Death Eater..."

"I'm going to bed, Ron." Hermione informed. "Get some sleep. For Merlin's sake, be careful. Both of you."

Pandora offered a tight smile before Hermione disappeared up the stairs. "You weren't worried about me, were you?"

She scoffed at Ron's question and attempted to shrug it off. "'Course not. You just get yourself in so many pickles; I was wondering what exactly you had gotten yourself into this time."

Ron nudged Pandora with his elbow. "You were worried."

Without meeting his eye, she wrapped her arms around him once more and stayed in his embrace for a few long moments, feeling his beating heart pound against her chest relax her every muscle. She drew away and looked into his intense blue eyes before following Hermione up the staircase to her dormitories.

:::

Ron was slow to wake Wednesday morning, nearly every muscle in his body aching, although they were a dull throb compared with the muscles torn in his shoulder. Dreading his Herbology exam at noon, Ron went over the plan in his head. Using the wordless levitation spell he learned, Ron and a few others would use that to lift the man-eating baby fir above the heads of the Death Eaters while the rest in the room would hold them still. How far this plan was destined to go, he had no idea, but any show of rebellion weakened the Death Eaters' power.

As if it became some sick part of his daily routine, he thought of Pandora while he readied himself for the day. She was beginning to act differently around him. Almost...affectionately? Not that he'd admit such thoughts to her face; he'd probably lose his bollocks. He couldn't say he minded it, though. He found that every time he hugged her now, all of four times, he really didn't want to let her go, except for the last time, late last night; the look in her eyes made his heart stop. He paused in doing up his trousers as the sudden thought entered his mind of her looking up at him with those eyes as he-

"What exams d'you have today, Ron?"

Ron shook his head violently as Seamus' question interrupted his momentary daydream.

Bloody hell.

"Err...Herbology. You?"

"Bloody Potions with that prick, Esson. Y'know, people are startin' to believe he's a Vampire. I wouldn' put it past him, if you ask me."

Ron nodded distractedly and slipped his worn trainers on before making his way down to the common room. He cursed in his head as he was unable to control the blush that crept up his cheeks to his ears when he saw Pandora pulling her hair back into a ponytail, her back arching with the simple action.

"G'morning, Ron. What do you have for today?"

Ron managed a tight smile before he focussed his eyes on the fireplace. "Herbology. Gonna attack them with man-eating firs today. Wish me luck."

Pandora chuckled. "Luck."

"What about you?"

"Potions today, in about an hour. I'm supposed to make some innocent student try the Matrimonium Pulvis potion, but I'm hoping to create the simple strength potion without their knowledge."

Ron nodded. "I had Potions on Monday. Had to make that...uhh...fire blood one –" "Incendia Cruor." "Right! Well, I shoved it down the Death Eaters' throat. I suppose they expected that, 'cause they came up with an antidote in no time."

Pandora flashed a grin. "Think this will help? What we're doing to Voldemort's army. Or will it make everything worse?"

"They'll let us know soon enough, I expect." Pandora nodded, her eyes distant as she seemed to look without seeing. "What's wrong?"

Her green eyes met his then. "Remember when I told you about...about my father? How I started fighting back?" Ron furrowed his eyebrows in concern. "It got worse, Ron. Everything...got worse..."

Ron placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and squeezed slightly. "It won't get worse. There are more of us than there are of them. What could they possibly do?"

Pandora smirked and shook her head. "I really wish you hadn't said that."

:::

Belladonna, henbane, and cambion rattle through her head incessantly during her Potions exam. At least Pandora knew these things, although she chalked it up to her rumoured 'vampire' professor, as he wasn't being over shadowed by another. She willed her mind to focus and complete the question at hand: _Name the three basic ingredients used in every Dark Potion. _Pandora sighed at the simple question, wondering if she was doing the correct examination. She dipped her quill into her ink and wrote, _Claw of Baku, seed of fanged geranium and hemlock. _Nearly all of the questions were like this, asking for definitions of this plant or leaf and how to extract this venom from that creature. As if they were being trained to become their soldiers. The notion was ridiculous, of course. Who would be rubber-brained enough to even consider the possibility for their future? She hoped she never met the person, although it wouldn't surprise her if there were a certain few in a certain House who already considered the silent offer.

Completing the written part of the exam, Pandora walked to the front of the Hall to prepare for the 'Marrow Dust' potion that she was expected to concoct. She had done enough scrounging around the potion cabinet in her early weeks of school to use safe ingredients that looked similar to the ones she was supposed to use. Trying her best for a passive expression as she glanced at the poor Hufflepuff, Pandora set the ingredients into the boiling cauldron in proper order, according to her, as the Death Eater currently grading her was not paying much attention. Stirring this way and that for nearly twenty minutes while simultaneously adding a leaf here and wing there, the potion turned a creamy purple colour and smelled of tree sap. Sneaking a secretive wink at the Hufflepuff, she offered him a goblet of the potion under the now watchful eye of the Death Eater.

She knew he was starting to feel good. It was a strong strength potion, so to speak, but he had to remain as he was until inspected.

"What is this? What did you give him, Mudblood?" Apparently, a nonchalant shrug was not the right answer. "Fill this goblet...and drink."

Just as expected. Pandora took a swig of the potion and felt a sort of regeneration, felt the aching in her muscles lessen. Grinning, she looked straight in the eyes before summoning a tidal wave of the creamy purple substance over the hallway and watched in satisfaction as the Hall full of students began to perk up. Expecting a punishment, his fist was easily stopped by her hand while her other was thrust palm-up into his nose. The inevitable yell that followed did not make her cringe, but the sudden blow to the back of her head _did _make her unconscious.

:::

"...quiet, this girl needs rest!" hissed a familiar voice.

"She's gonna be okay, though-"

"For the final time, Mr. Weasley, she will be right as rain, but I need time and _space_ to work with."

"'M up...'m up. Don' worry 'bout me, m' all good. Le's go get thoze Death Eaterz, hm?"

"Pandora...you've been unconscious for eleven hours."

Pandora peeked an eye open to see Hermione, Ginny, Harry, Ron, and the Hufflepuff boy she supposed she saved were standing around her, sporting a few injuries themselves. She noticed Hermione biting her lip nervously and forced a grin that was supposed to comfort her.

"I s'pose you're all jealous 'cause 'm well rested now." Ginny shook her head in slight amusement and pinched the bridge of her nose. Harry rolled his eyes. Ron simply looked lost. "Right, can I leave now?"

Madam Pomfrey scoffed. "You're with me for one more hour. Have patience."

Pandora sighed. "Right, I'll meet you all in the common room in a bit then." A sudden exchange of exasperated looks. "All right, all right, one of you can stay."

Flashing tight smiles, Ginny and Hermione made to depart the RoR Hospital, leaving behind an awkward looking Hufflepuff and hesitant looking Harry.

"I – I – I just wanted to th – th – thank you." squeaked the young student before he rushed out of the Room, clearly out of sorts. Pandora exchanged odd looks with Ron and Harry before those sharp green eyes shifted, almost guarded the secrets it held as they searched her own.

"Look, I trust you now, all right? You've done...well enough for...for everyone. Just, be careful now, yeah? You've proven yourself time and time again, and I really don't believe you'll stop until they've killed you. For Merlin's sake, you're making Ron pull out his own hair every time you walk in that common room with a bloody paper cut."

Pandora smirked. "You think I'm doing this just for you?"

The corner of his mouth turned up just slightly. "No, I know why you're doing it. Still...one Pandora is enough, we don't need you scattered all over the school."

"I don't make promises I can't keep, Harry."

"I know."

Ron watched, bewildered, as Harry left the RoR.

:::

The morning was rough. What little food there was left in her stomach had decided to make a hasty escape as soon as she opened her eyes. So it was soon decided that breakfast was out of the question as Pandora staggered down the corridors toward the Great Hall to wait for the morning meal to finish. The school was becoming nearly unrecognizable, with most of the portraits now gone or ripped apart, the clean, cold stone speckled with blood every now and then, and the long hallways ones lit with bright lamps were now illuminated by wands in dark passageways. Passing students, she now realized the school wasn't the only thing that had changed. When she arrived at this place, students were jovial, chatty, and enthusiastic, talking with dear friends and worrying about menial things such as an essay or a relationship. Now, they were reserved and had an air of determination about them, worrying about their family, what type of punishment they were expected to receive, and whether they would be raised in a world where Voldemort ruled.

Charms. Her final exam of the term. Pandora had something special planned for today. The plan would either go beautifully or it would end in complete disaster, and she was prepared for both. Placing the calmest expression she could muster upon her face, she walked through the great oak doors and took a seat near the back of the Hall, setting the few supplies she had brought with her onto the table. Parchment settled silently in front of every student, and, in what seemed a quiet resignation, Pandora filled the answers to each question; how to raise the dead, proper wand movements for each spell, and how to compel one to surrender to you by forcing them on their knees. She thought this spell an odd one to learn, and further raised her suspicions of the entire school body being raised as an army.

This was it. Calm as the ocean breathing on the shore, Pandora walked to a table as its black-cloaked Death Eater eyed her apprehensively. Pandora made sure there were no innocent bystanders near her as she quietly whispered _Incendietis. _An instant wall of extreme heat erupted behind her, blocking her and the grumpy examiner from everyone else in the room. She knew he realized what was going through her mind before she had a chance to mutter the Dead Atmosphere curse. She knew because the last thing she would remember before releasing a blood-curdling scream, before writhing on the cold floor as if in an epileptic fit, before the students flew to the imaginary wall and cried out in horror as they watched her suffer, before Ron's face found hers twisted in such agony she would surely wish for death, before her muscles must have turned to fire and melted her every bone and nerve, was hearing the curse _Crucio _leave his snarled lip.

She lay still when he released her, her chest rising and falling in shallow gasps. And Ron would never forget this voice as he spoke "Congratulations. You all pass." and left as the sizzling wall dissipated behind him.

:::

**Oh my Rowling...sixty-five hundred words. That's a lot. I realize it took a long time to finally finish this, but between being away from the internet for great periods of time and serious writers block, along with holidays, this one cam a bit late. I hope it was worth it, though =) Please let me know what you think! I hope I didn't disappoint =D**

**Matrimonium Pulvis – Marrow Dust. Disintegrates bone marrow into...dust!**

**Incendia Cruor – Fire Blood. Heats up blood at quick rate for a quick painful death.**

**Incendietis – Firewall. Creates powerful wall of fire broken only when the castor releases the spell, or is unconscious/dead.**

**Pretty gruesome, I know.**


	13. Lest you curse my toenails off

**LUCKILY I completed this chap while I was...indisposed. Have not finished 14 yet, though...I'm having a very bad case of writers block. I know what is going to happen, I just don't know how to word ANYTHING. It's extremely frustrating.**

**This is a fairly length chapter, about the time span of a day, but a lot happens, so I hope it's enjoyable =)**

She couldn't find the blasted thing anywhere. Not under the covers of her bed, not anywhere in her luggage bag, and not in her pockets. Pandora couldn't believe she had lost her wand the morning she was supposed to leave for the Burrow, and she was quite sure she would need it at some point. Her dorm mates had tried to help her earlier this morning, but it seemed a simple spell had escaped their minds as they searched, a spell that Pandora remembered once they left Gryffindor tower...a spell that, like all of them, required a wand. Which she was currently looking for as she crawled on her hands and knees to search under all the beds. She winced as she leaned on her elbows to search the separate dimension that was beneath the four-posters, the pain still fresh and sharp from the day before. Her face was ghost white from loss of blood, despite a blood-replenishing potion, and her arms, legs and back felt seared to the bone.

A hasty knock on the door made her jump, causing her head to bash the underside of Hermione's bed. Rubbing her sore skull and cursing out loud, she stalked to the dormitory door and opened it with vigour. Ron blinked at her scowling face.

"How may I help you on this fabulous morning in the girls' dormitories?"

"Ah, Pandora. Cheerful as the morning sun, I see."

Pandora stuck her finger in front of Ron's face. "Not in the mood now, Chuckles. I am _trying _to find my _bloody _wand."

Ron grasped her finger with his whole hand. "Not polite to point, Ms. Witte."

Pandora huffed angrily and released his grip on her finger before her hands attacked the top of his worn out trousers.

"Oi! May I ask what you think you're doing?"

Pandora's hands fought against Ron's as she searched every inch of the wizard's fabric. "I. Need. Your. Bloody. Wand."

Ron finally got a decent grip on her wrists and forced them in front of her. "Which one?"

Pandora raised an eyebrow and glanced at his chest to see the end of a wooden stick poking out of his front pocket. She slowly reached her restrained hand toward him and slid his wand out of its home, waving it enticingly in Ron's face. "Don't flatter yourself, Ronald."

Turning to face the room, Pandora poised the foreign wand against her cheek as she scanned the room.

"Bloody hell," Ron's voice raised an octave as he spoke. "you can't just pad down a bloke's trousers like that without a bit of notice first!"

"Sorry, did I awaken the beast?"

Ron's eyebrows met in confusion, soon followed by rising in understanding. "I...err...I mean, no...no, of course not but...still...give a bloke a warning."

Pandora smirked and muttered, _Accio Wand _as her first and most obvious choice of words but grinned in triumph when her own gnarly wand flew gracefully into her hand. Turning to face Ron again, she tossed his own wand back to him and gathered her travelling bag and personal rucksack.

"Lost your wand, did you?"

Pandora rolled her eyes as she passed Ron and headed down the stairs. "No, Ron, I lost my elephant."

Ron scoffed. "You really are in a bad mood this morning."

Pandora shrugged and pushed her way through the portrait hole only to be stopped by Ron as soon as it closed behind them. "Oh, I know what it is. You're nervous, aren't you?"

She ignored him and continued down the corridor as he spoke.

"I'm right, aren't I? You're meeting my family...all these new people. You probably haven't even had a real Christmas in years..." Ron nearly bumped into Pandora as she stopped in her tracks, her back tense and her head stiff, and he ran his hand through his hair. "I'm...I'm sorry, that was too-"

"No, you're right. Spot on, really. I refuse to let such silly worries ruin my time at your family's home."

Ron placed his hand on her shoulder, gulped, and kissed the side of her head. "You'll...like it there. I promise. It'll be fun. I'll be there, after all."

He mentally sighed as he felt her relax and even caught the tiniest of grins. "Always so full of yourself, Ron."

"No. Not always."

:::

Ron sat impatiently as Pandora ate her food as daintily as always, though he noted her posture was fading as she leaned slightly over the table. She had gotten better since that night she confessed everything to him. She no longer sat stick straight and she seemed to enjoy her food more, although she was still rather out of place at meal times when she was surrounded by people shoving their own meal down their throat.

Pandora set her fork down and glared at him. "If you're so damn impatient, then go to Hogsmead. I'll meet you there."

Ron sighed and ruffled his hair. "I'm not leaving you here alone, all right? Look at them...watching us like bloody eagles." His eyes scanned the perimeter of the room at the various Death Eaters patrolling the Great Hall and he looked down in sadness; the Great all Hall had been a place of happiness and delicious food and being surprised by the enchanted ceiling every time you walked in. Now the ceiling was always grey as Dementors flew about it, held back by several of the Death Eater's Patronus'.

The sharp sound of silverware on a plate returned and Ron watched Pandora as she finished her meal within a minute. She looked over at him expectantly. "We best hurry, Ron. The train leaves in only forty-five minutes." Rising from her seat, she grabbed her things and headed towards the doors, leaving behind a bewildered Ron. He quickly gained his wits, seized his trunk and raced out of the hall, meeting an amused looking Pandora in the Entrance Hall. They set out the great doors and down the path towards Hogsmead in companioned silence.

The small wizard town came into view and Ron gauged Pandora's expression as her pace slowed down. Her dejected look confused him until he looked up. The bright, frosty windows that were usually so full of decorations, magical gifts and people shopping were barred with wood and hasty spells and the doors were locked and chained while the surrounding shops were barren and ghostly, the paint peeling off of the fronts and structure cracking along the sides. Beggars garbed in muddy rags lined the once-bright-with-snow street and Death Eaters patrolled the lane, leering down at passing students. This was not the Hogsmead he remembered. This was the small town's graveyard.

"Is this..."

Ron only briefly wondered what Pandora's question was going to be before he started down the street again. The brown snow sloshed beneath their feet as they trudged between the broken windows of buildings and the croaked pleading of drifters. The warm steam from the Hogwarts Express could be seen from the distance and it was the only thing that kept Ron moving forward, wondering what they could possibly have done to the reliable train to render it unrecognizable. It was then when he heard familiar voices.

"...isn't it? It's just awful; they've corrupted the entire town."

Hermione.

"They corrupted the school, the ministry, the whole of bloody England...why wouldn't they take over one small town?"

Harry.

"There they are."

Ginny.

The three of them came into view as Ron and Pandora approached the train, which, to Ron's immense relief, hadn't changed at all.

"Where have you been? Do you have any idea how worried we've all-"

"I'm sorry." Pandora interrupted Ginny. "I lost my wand."

Ginny shook her head in a scolding manner that reminded Ron distinctively of his mother. "You can't simply _lose _your wand, Pandora; it's like your third arm!"

Pandora raised an eyebrow at her. "Please forgive me, Miss Weasley. I shall refrain from losing my third arm lest you curse my toenails off."

Ginny flashed a cheeky grin and swept the hair away from her eyes with her hand. That's when he saw it: something shiny, silver and black and linked with a series of chains. "What's that, Gin?"

Ginny's eye turned cold as she glared at the chain cuff and explained. "Something to keep an 'eye' on us with. This stupid thing is supposed to keep track of us and make sure none of us run off and start a rebellion."

"Like a tracking device?" asked Pandora. Ron furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Hermione shrugged. "I suppose that's the best comparison, though I have a feeling it will do something nastier than simply track you if rebellion or running away is what you're planning."

"Mighty intelligent for a Mudblood, you are."

Ron's blood ran cold; the voice belonged to the Death Eater who tortured Pandora. As the thought ran through his mind, he immediately prayed to Merlin that she would not say what he thought she would say.

"Mighty dense for a Death Eater, you are." His stomach turned to ice.

Every muscle in Ron's body tensed and he prepared to shift to Pandora's aid if the Death Eater had attempted anything. She winced as he seized her arm and cinched the chained cuff around her wrist. Before Ron could relax, Pandora was on her knees, groaning and clutching her side, and at that moment Ron found himself immobilized. He attempted to glare daggers at the black-cloaked man as he approached Ron, but his wrist was cuffed against his will. The heavy, silver cuff felt ugly and tainted on his body, as if it was affecting his skin and blood. The Death Eater sneered at him from under his cowardly mask and stalked away from the still group towards students who looked like they were trying to bypass the chaining. Ron felt free once more, as did the others, and he knelt down beside the raven-haired witch and helplessly looked into her eyes as she gasped for breath.

"You all right?"

Pandora managed to look intimidating even when in immense pain. "Bl-bloody blighter."

Ron shook his head as he helped her up. "Why did you have to poke at him, eh? You knew what would happen, Pandora..."

"I'm not gonna start pleasing these people. They need to be told off...disrespected."

"Not at the cost of your health."

"Then at _what_ cost, Ron?"

They shared a meaningful look, and Ron understood what she was trying to tell him without words: she cared for the school, she cared for the people and professors who walked its halls, and she would do anything to defend it. Because, like Harry, Hogwarts was her home. It was her sanctuary, her first place of peace, where her friends lay their heads down at night. And her sanctuary was being attacked.

Like her sister had been.

Their silent conversation ended when Harry coughed awkwardly and tilted his head in the direction of the bright red train as the engine roared expectantly. Ron helped Pandora with her luggage and the two of them followed the others as they boarded the train and found a large enough compartment for themselves.

:::

"...you're all right with this?"

A laugh. "I actually am, Harry. Don't worry. I did some growing up during the summer." A pause. "I won't go into details."

"Err...good. Good."

Pandora was on the verge of consciousness as she groaned into the seat. Forcing her eyes open, she rubbed her face vigorously and attempted to sit up. She was surprised to find her legs raised on something and looked down to see what it was; this process caused her to jump and fall off of the bench onto the floor of the small room as she realized she had been sitting on top of Ron with her legs resting over his thighs and her head nestled under his chin. Her recent actions left him surprisingly undisturbed and he fidgeted around for a moment before settling into another comfortable spot. Pandora stood stiffly and tried her best to ignore the muffled chuckles of Harry, Ginny and Hermione,

"Err...right...is there a loo on here somewhere?"

Ginny nearly perfected a composed face. "Very end of the train."

Pandora nodded curtly and slid the door open to the long narrow hall. The moment she closed it, frenzied laughter could be heard through the thin glass and Pandora raised her chin in defiance and stalked down the middle of the warm train. She passed cabins full of recognizable faces, most tensed with worry and anxiousness, and walked though a few cabs that had an open feel to them. She even walked between what seemed to be two large rooms on either side until she finally met the end of the train and entered the female lavatory. Upon exit, she glanced out the very back window at the rough Scotland landscape. Trees rose everywhere amongst the rocky tundra and settled high into the mountains which were capped with fresh snow. The steam from the engine hung in the air like a pale, misty trail behind the train. Of course, since Pandora was having such a peaceful time looking out of the window, she had to be disturbed the moment she turned around.

"Ah, been a bit clumsy, I see."

Even without the drawling tone of Draco Malfoy's voice, the flash of white-blonde hair was unmistakably his. Pandora was surprised to see his face perfectly intact and free of blood and bruises. She kept her face as composed as she could while she looked into his steely gaze.

"And, I see you've been quite graceful."

Draco blinked and seemed to see her injuries for the first time as his eyes travelled around her face until they rested on a gash across her cheek that hadn't healed yet. He did something unexpected then, something that caused Pandora to leap away from his hand as he reached out to touch her face. He swallowed and his eyebrows met in confusion.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Draco seemed to be lost in thought as his eyes unfocused on something behind her. "You're one of them, aren't you?" His eyes met hers then and Pandora saw a completely different expression than before; he looked lost.

"Not really..." He sounded unsure.

Pandora shook her head impatiently. "Right, just...don't touch me, all right?"

She made to brush past him but his hand on her arm stopped her. "Wait. Wait...I'm sorry, I've just...I mean-"

"Will you just spit it out?"

Draco let her arm go but out of curiosity Pandora did not run off. "I've been raised to think a certain way...to look down upon anyone not born of Pureblood. My faith had been tested when I first arrived at Hogwarts and met Granger. Muggle-born, yet the most intelligent being I've ever known. But I though it must have been a fluke; they were all supposed to be walking amongst trolls, in my opinion. But when I met you, I thought there must be something to Muggle-borns because you are nothing like a troll."

Pandora stared at him blankly for a moment. "Is this your attempt at an apology? Because it's quite rancid."

Draco flashed a quick grin. "I don't do this very often."

"I noticed. Look, I don't know what your angle is here. I don't know what's going on in your mind. I am really quite confused as to why you've compared Hermione and me to a troll. All I know is that your face is perfectly fine and the rest of us on this train have something to show for our sacrifice."

Pandora managed to walk by Draco again without being stopped and staggered down the narrow hall of the train towards her compartment. The small groups' chatter was cut off instantly when she unintentionally slammed the glass door shut and slumped into the seat nearest the window. The four exchanged brief looks before Ron spoke up.

"The toilette being cheeky again, eh?"

Both Hermione and Pandora glared at him. "Ron, honestly!" Hermione turned to Pandora. "What happened?"

Pandora snorted. "How should one act when being compared to a troll?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow; Ron looked confused; Ginny shook her head in disgust; Harry said, "A bit like you are right now, I suppose."

Pandora laughed bitterly and resumed her gaze out of the window.

"Care to explain, or is this one for us to figure out?" asked Ginny.

All Pandora had to mutter was 'Draco' and everyone voiced their understanding, though Ron simply looked furious. "Why the bloody hell would he compare you to a troll? How would that subject even-"

"Ron-"

"-up? The bloody son of a-"

"Ron!"

"...slimy git."

Pandora's face softened as Ron boiled in his own frustration. "He...well. I think he was trying to apologize. To us." She looked at Hermione then. "It was quite horrendous, actually. Then he expected immediate forgiveness. I thought he had to prove it as actions speak louder."

Harry looked utterly bewildered. "Malfoy...apologized?"

"In so many words, yes."

"So he swallowed his heaping mass of pride and then...compared you to a troll?"

Pandora couldn't help it; she chuckled.

"That must have been one hell of a meal." Ginny mused.

Pandora's chuckle grew into uncontrollable laughter and one by one everyone joined in.

:::

Evening loomed over the cold landscape as the fog rolled in through the hills and surrounded the bright red train. Pandora's breath fogged the misted window with each exhale, subconsciously stroking the red hair lying across her lap. Ron had passed out in this position a little over an hour earlier, much to Ginny's dismay, who had his legs. Hermione had curled up in a ball and was leaning against the wall while Harry sat with his arms folded loosely over his chest, a far-off look in his eyes. It was quite a change from an hour ago, the compartment full of laughter and crude jokes and comical stories. "I see lights..." Pandora's drowsy sentence seemed to shake everyone out of their reverie.

"Get up!"

A hard slap on his legs by his sister caused Ron to jump up and nearly knock Pandora in the head. "Bloody-! _What_, Gin?"

"We're here, dear brother. At least I didn't pour water over your crotch this time."

Pandora snorted and covered her mouth, trying desperately to control her hilarity before she spoke again. "Let's gather our things, yeah? Before you give me too many ideas."

Their belongings gathered and hearts racing, the five of them stood and waited in the growing queue to leave the train as it shuddered to a stop in front of the station. Shouts for parents and children could already be heard before the doors even opened and the sound was nearly deafening when it did. A wave of people pushed along the cramped hallways of the train to run to their families. Pandora noted the anxious look on Ron's face and understood: no one has been in contact with the other since the Death Eaters arrived and they had been living in silent agony for months.

The crowd outside of the train wasn't much better as the small group seemed to be torn apart while they searched for the Weasley's. Neither Ron nor Ginny were anywhere to be seen and Pandora had no idea who she was looking for or even where she was going. If not for a small sea of red in the midst of brown and black, Pandora may have stood were she was until the crowd dissipated. She picked her way through the crowd towards the family until they came into sight, near a dark wall, and counted six with the characteristic red hair along with Harry and Hermione. She immediately felt out of place, as if she were intruding on something as she watched the woman embrace each of them with as much love as the last. She cupped Harry's cheek affectionately and looked up at that moment. Pandora found she could not move nor look away from her warm gaze and barely noticed as Ginny seemed to tell her something. She smiled fondly then and waved her hand, beckoning her to join them. So Pandora gathered her trunk and belongings and walked at a surprisingly steady pace towards the family.

"You're Pandora?" Mrs. Weasley's face was drawn down in concern but traced with happiness. Pandora simply nodded. "Well, it's nice to meet you dear." If not numbed from shock, Pandora may have leaped away as Mrs. Weasley wrapped her arms about her shoulders. Hesitantly, she returned the hug, feeling a warmth spread through her soul that was oddly familiar, like meeting an old friend after years of separation. Pulling away, and cupping her cheek, Mrs. Weasley turned to her family.

"All counted for, then? One...two...eight, nine and...right, everyone follow me. We'll be Apparating home so please, stay close!" And she disappeared through the wall with Mr. Weasley. Pandora openly gaped at the pieces of brick that appeared to have eaten them until Ron explained.

"It's the only way to get to the train station. Can't just have one red train with 'Hogwarts' written on the front parked in the middle of Kings Cross."

Pandora nodded slowly. "So...Kings Cross is...in there?"

She didn't have time to scream when someone pushed her towards the solid wall and next thing she knew, she felt ice cold air pierce her skin and silence invade her ears, soon broken by the sound of Ginny chuckling directly behind her.

"Ooh...Gin, you'll be sorry you ever did that."

After the last five raced through the brick wall, the large group left the nearly barren train station and headed opposite of downtown London, down a bedraggled road with a still forest on one side. Pandora had been walking just behind Ron and his brothers, Fred and George, as they talked rather animatedly about some shop or other, and just in front of Harry, Hermione and Ginny. Suddenly experiencing the feeling of being watched, she looked up and into the eyes of the twins, the same mischievous grin spreading across their faces.

"Wha-"

"Only curious...what has our lovely git – err, I mean brother! – said to keep you around like he has?"

"He does have this tendency to stuff his mouth with his own foot at times –"

"- and what patience you must have to put up with his bleating – I mean endearing – complaints all the live long day."

They had fallen into step with Pandora, no taller than herself, and wrapped an arm over each shoulder as they spoke. Pandora eyed each of them in turn before speaking.

"You know, gents, I believe this man here has his hands full more so than I do. Now, my foot doesn't go anywhere unnatural, _but_ I do possess a temper that could rival his."

They gasped in mock horror. "No! Surely a lovely lady such as yourself would possess the grace and elegance to control such a temper?"

Pandora chuckled. "He told you, did he?"

"Now, Pandora, I haven't the foggiest of what you could possibly mean."

"Oh, you will."

"Will you quit harassing her?"

"Don't mind him; it's his time of the month. I'm Fred, by the way."

"George, milady. Now, why don't-"

"Everyone! We are turning right in here! Stay close behind me; there's no worn path!"

Pandora filed in the line between George and Ron and stepped through the thick bush. The heavy set trees held the snow and gripped at their clothes and hair, but it wasn't a long walk before a clearing barely large enough for the group came into view and everyone huddled around.

"All right, you all know where to go?" Everyone nodded but Pandora.

"Mum, Pandora hasn't..."

"Of course, of course, she'll side-a-long with you, Ron. Ginny, you'll come with me – don't look at me like that, now, you're underage –"

"As if the Ministry will really care anymore –"

"- Fred and George, you'll -!" _Pop_. "- meet us...there. Right, off we go."

A series of _pop_s sounded around Pandora and Ron until they were the last ones. "Keep your fingers and toes tucked in, yeah? Don't wanna go splinching anything off in the process."

Pandora raised an eyebrow at him. "You keep your Apparition as far away from my fingers as possible, you understand?"

Ron flashed a grin before grabbing her arm.

**Another chapter gone...ok so I am ALMOST halfway done, just to give you guys a timeline...the next chapter will probably be half of the story. Thank you very much to all who have reviewed and subscribed and favourited...I really do appreciate you taking the time to read my ideas =)**


	14. Noble bloody chess git

***dodges fruit* I know...I know...it's been awhile. Like I said, I had major writers block and although I know what I wanted to happen, I had no idea how to start the chapter or how to word some things SO here it is. Chapter...what are we on now? 14? Merlin...might want to read the last paragraph of the previous chapter so the beginning of this one makes more sense =P ANYWAYS I really hope you like it...it's not my favourite overall chapter, but there are some parts that I feel really proud of, and I hope you think so too! Some nice Ron and Pandora moments =) Let me know what you think! **

**:::**

The cool, crisp December air pierced her face once more and her eyes travelled over the cloud-blanketed evening sky, taking in the vast acreage and the tall, looming structure of the Burrow. It looked as if it were fighting gravity, much in the same fashion as Hogwarts, with rooms and towers jutting out and away from the peak of the building. The base of the home was surrounded in what looked like bushes and flowerbeds and little odds and ends and did not look like they belonged around wizards, such as an antique vacuum hidden haphazardly behind a small tree, a small clothing iron set on top of the railing of the front porch, and a perfectly normal looking broom and dustbin strewn beside the steps. Pandora chuckled as she recalled Ron telling her about his father's slight obsession with Muggle things.

She frowned when a heavy sigh broke the still night and she rounded on Ron, her eyes narrowed into furious, poison-green slits. His hands rose defensively. Pandora delicately hiked the sleeves of her jumper up to her elbow. He flashed a quick 'forgive me' grin. She sneered, and her fists thundered against his chest, his arms, his back. "YOU – SONOFA – APPARATE – WITHOUT – ASKING – TRICKY LITTLE –" What Pandora mistook for grunting was actually a poor attempt at containing his laughter, which soon exploded into hysteria, which soon had him on his knees while she stood in front of him, fists poised in midair and slightly flabbergasted.

What the two of them failed to notice was the looks their odd behaviour received from the rest of the family reuniting on the front porch.

:::

"Right, now, you've met George...Fred, yes. Put that down, Bill! Dinner is nearly ready! My son, Bill, and daughter-in-law, Fleur." Pandora accepted the French woman's dainty hand and smiled nervously at the couple. "And Charlie, of course." Pandora nodded and smiled. "And I don't think you've met my husband, Arthur?" Ron's father extended his hand with a tired smile and Pandora did not feel threatened. She did not feel angry. She was not being degraded. Or insulted. Or hurt. She was being...accepted in the most ordinary way possible. And she felt thankful as she accepted his hand with a returning smile, knowing he'll never quite realize how much that small, insignificant moment meant to her.

Much to her relief, the attention was off of the new arrival and onto discussions of life at the school, the oncoming war, and what they would do for food and money if times became too hard. Pandora took this time to peruse the warm home. The whole place was filled with heirlooms, tiny 'Weasley' details, Muggle things attached to what could only be assumed as wizard things and the oddest clock that wasn't really a clock at all. Nine tiny little faces were shown on each hand of the 'clock' with nine places instead of numbers: Home, School, Work, Travelling, Lost, Hospital, Prison, Quidditch, and Mortal Peril. Grief struck her when she noticed every Weasley face was stuck under 'mortal peril'.

The furniture in the kitchen seemed to overtake the small space already full of people; the old wooden table obviously witness to thousands of meals and the chairs seen to just as many bottoms. The counter space was filled with various sizes of pots and pans, too many plates and food that looked like it could feed every student in Hogwarts. Utensils and pots flew about the kitchen in a mad hurry, water bubbling, vegetables chopping, and it took Pandora a moment to realize Mrs. Weasley was the cause of all this while simultaneously holding a conversation with Bill. She chuckled as her gaze swept across the kitchen to the living room. Pictures were hung and placed in nearly every corner and crevice of the room, each displaying a friend or family member of some sort, waving and smiling. The couches looked a little worse for wear and maybe too soft, but despite the cramped space and aging furniture, it felt cozy.

Pandora glanced once more at the large family chatting animatedly around the table, her eyes lingering on Ron sharing a rather intense looking conversation with Charlie and Harry. He caught her eye and that short moment combined with her not paying attention to any of the conversations made her jump when she suddenly heard her name.

" – Pandora?"

She shook her head and looked for the person calling her.

"Dad, she's from...she was raised by Muggles, she wouldn't know."

Pandora raised an eyebrow at Mr. Weasley and Ginny standing by a door at the opposite corner of the entrance.

"Raised by Muggles? How fascinating! Tell me, when a toaster is –"

"Arthur!" Mr. Weasley snapped his jaw shut once his wife sent him a warning look and he jerked a nod. "Dinner's ready, everyone! Tuck in, now, we should all fit!"

Nearly ten minutes and three broken – and repaired – plates later, everyone squeezed into the table, jowl by jowl, and promptly dug into the magnificent meal. Pandora felt a little unease settle into her nerves; though her eating habits had improved magnificently, she still lacked the skill to eat like a Weasley and felt like a meek little porcelain doll amongst Vikings.

"Don' worry, we'll 'ave 'oo eatin' 'ike ush in no time." stated Ginny with a mouthful of chicken.

:::

Posters of Quidditch, singers, and wizards Pandora assumed to be models covered the walls of Ginny's small room, amongst various photos of her family and school friends. The room was caught between fairies and princesses to a rebelling teenager and nearly every phase in between, but Pandora found it endearing. You could almost see Ginny's life simply by glancing around. Hermione lounging on an old chair filled her vision along with Ginny sprawled out on her bed, looking entirely too relaxed.

"I missed my bed."

Hermione giggled. "You hide your yearning for the old feather cushions quite well."

"Oh, it's turning my stomach to knots just hiding it from you."

"That might be that last bit of meatloaf you shoved in your mouth –"

"'Course not, I'm used to –"

"- _before _you ate two slices of pie –"

"- that's nothing compared to –"

"- and a handful of truffles."

Pandora's shoulders were soon shaking with mirth and it didn't take long before the other two joined in, gripping their sides and rolling around until a soft knock at the door spoiled their fun. Through the aftershocks of laughter, Ginny spoke.

"Come – come in."

Timid as a rabbit in a wolf den, Harry opened the creaking door and flashed a quick grin before settling his eyes on Ginny, and Pandora instantly felt as if she no longer existed. "Could I speak with you?"

Without a word and a backwards glance, Ginny left the room with Harry, leaving Pandora and Hermione to share an amused look and imagine what the little meeting could be about.

"So, what do you think?"

Pandora shrugged. "I suppose I expected nothing less from a wizard's home."

"Well, not every wizard home looks quite like this, although none of them look anything like a Muggle house."

Pandora smirked. "You've been to many, have you?"

"I...I've read about them."

"Where on earth do you find these books on the most random things?"

Hermione flushed. "Where there's a will, there's a way."

Pandora nodded thoughtfully. "Where there's a will..."

They spoke of simple things, hardly bothered by the fact that they had not seen Ginny nor Harry for the rest of the evening, and Pandora bid Hermione a good night by the early morning of Sunday and quietly crept down the rather noisy staircase and creaked open the door to the kitchen. She nearly leaped a foot in the air when she noticed Mrs. Weasley sitting in the dark room, clutching a mug of tea and staring blankly into the living room.

"Mrs. Weasley, I – you didn't have to wait –"

"Oh no, dear, don't you worry about it. I couldn't sleep." Pandora nodded slowly, feeling suddenly awkward. "I'll help you with your bed." Suddenly cheery, Mrs. Weasley leaped from her spot and bustled over to the worn couch, holding one too many folded woollen blankets and about eight too many pillows, and went about spreading the several hand-made comforters. Pandora's heart raced in her chest for a second time that night once she noticed Ginny resting against Harry on the roomy chair adjacent to Pandora's new bed. "I'm sorry for such terrible accommodations, dear. I haven't got much room and everyone is here for the holidays..." She caught Pandora's curious gaze on the young couple. "Yes, they've been there awhile." She sighed softly. "I must wake them, I'm afraid."

Pandora lifted her gaze from the young couple and considered Mrs. Weasley for a moment, took in her tired eyes and the vivid lines creasing her forehead from stress and worry. Just barely coming to surface was the gentle wrinkles surrounding her mouth that suggested to Pandora her relief and happiness, and she tenderly placed her hand on Mrs. Weasley's arm and smiled. "I'll do it, Mrs. Weasley. Go to sleep, all right? Everyone is here, they're all fine." She flashed a tight smile and jerked a nod before patting Pandora's cheek.

"It's lovely to have you, dear."

Pandora did not move a muscle until she heard the quiet creak of the bedroom door closing upstairs. Without pause, she tossed one of her many pillows at the two sleeping beauties and stifled a snicker as Harry twitched so violently he caused Ginny to plummet to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"What the buggering –"

"_Amour veut tout sans nombre, amour n'a point de loi_." Blank looks filled with weariness stared back at Pandora and she returned to English with a bored tone."You're in my room. I don't remember inviting you, oddly enough."

Ginny looked up from her new spot on the floor and scowled while Harry refused to meet Pandora's eye and tried unsuccessfully to disguise his burning red cheeks. Wicked as a witch, the redhead grinned and rose to her full height. "Remember this exact moment, Witte. It will happen to you." With a final glance, she swept past Pandora and creaked up the steps to her bedroom, leaving a clearly flustered Harry alone with her. Just when Pandora thought she couldn't take any more surprises, a deep voice spoken from behind her caused her heart to leap into her throat.

"...the bloody hell you doin' in here, mate?" Ron's voice, though muffled by sleep, rang through the small room and Harry seemed awakened from his stupor as he passed Pandora and made his way towards Ron.

"Tea...getting tea."

"In the living room?"

"He was cuddling." smirked Pandora. Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Cuddling? What the bloody hell were you cuddling Pandora for?"

Pandora snorted and grinned apologetically at Harry, who was now glaring furiously at her. "Ginny. I was down here with Ginny."

Ron raised an eyebrow; the smallest of movements, yet suddenly the room felt cooler. "With my sister, eh? Don't suppose you were talking about something important?"

Harry remained cool and collected despite his crimson face. "We were."

Pandora decided to break the tense atmosphere. "Look, why don't you two go upstairs and settle this with a pillow fight or something. I don't possess the skill to slumber while men are spitting in each other's eyes."

Though neither cracked a grin of any sort, they stiffly retreated to their room up the noisy stairs and that was good enough for Pandora as she all but collapsed onto the couch. She was right. It was a little too soft.

:::

"She's a grown woman, you know! She can make her own decisions!"

"Well, if that same decision is gonna keep hurting her then I don't want you near my sister! If you keep playing around with –"

"I'm not playing around with her, and you know it!"

Ron slammed his fist down on his dresser, causing it to shudder dangerously from the force. "Damn it, Harry! You break it off with her for what I'll agree is a good reason, and now I hear you two are off all by yourself in a cosy little corner for Merlin knows how long! Were you ever gonna tell me, or was I supposed to find out from Pandora?"

Harry's jaw clenched and he angled his head slightly as he glared at Ron from beneath his glasses. "Since we're on that topic...mind telling me why I had no right acting pissed about you and Pandora while you stand there and call me out on barely anything at all?"

Ron's face paled slightly and his voice lost the edge it once held. "Me and...but you're still pissed about that."

"I was. I didn't trust her then."

Ron raised a sceptical eyebrow. "You do now?"

Harry shrugged. "Look, if she wanted to hurt you, or any one of us, she would have done it by now."

"What...what do you mean?"

Harry sighed. "Well, you're clearly..." He hesitated. The words that he wouldn't say hung in the air between them like a flying little elephant and Ron burned red to his ears. "It's just...it'd be easy for her now."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, all right. Just...don't hurt her again, Harry."

A silent understanding and moment of kinship was interrupted once a few loud bangs sounded beneath their feet, followed by, "_Will you two gits end your bloody lovers spat and get to sleep!"_

:::

Bright lights burned her eyelids red once she heard quiet footsteps creak along the wooden floor and Pandora groaned as the final stages of sleep evaded her. A tired voice muttering something about eggs and Muggles caused her to peek open an eye and glance around the general vicinity of the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley popped into view, already bustling around the kitchen at...whatever time it happened to be. Try as she could to resume her mindless state, Pandora was awake and she may as well get ready for the long day ahead. The creaking of the old springs in the burgundy-floral printed couch that Pandora had laid on jolted Mrs. Weasley out of her morning routine and she clutched her chest with one hand, her wand with the other. Pandora froze, hardly breathing, eyeing the lightly coloured wand that was pointed directly at her chest. It seemed to take the experienced witch a moment before she collected herself and instantly stowed her wand away in her morning robes.

"I'm so sorry, dear! Oh, you gave me quite a fright." She laughed nervously.

Pandora flashed a cheeky grin. "Don't tell me you'd forgotten I was here."

"No, of course not! No, it's been a busy couple of days and –"

Pandora's cheeks flushed red as she considered the woman before her. "Oh, Mrs. Weasley, I was...I was only kidding! I'm sorry; I shouldn't joke about that..."

Mrs. Weasley seemed relieved as a warm smile graced her face. "Merlin...don't worry about it, now. I've lost my sense of humour, it seems."

Pandora grinned wryly. "No one ever loses their sense of humour. It simply enjoys going on a vacation or two." Mrs. Weasley chuckled. "It'll find you at the oddest, most inappropriate time, though."

The older woman returned to the kitchen and resumed her fussing over breakfast, summoning too many pots and pans for the stove while eyeing ingredients and food to use. "Happened to you before, has it?"

"My mum's –" Pandora's sentence took a screeching halt and her breath seemed to catch in her throat. Dare she finish the sentence? The last thing Pandora needed to do was to press further grief upon Ron's mother. So she pushed 'eulogy' out of her mind and started her sentence over. "Uhm...it happened to my mum all the time."

Mrs. Weasley halted her routine once more and measured Pandora with her bright eyes, and her heart pounding in her ears told her that she feared she would be called out on her lie. Mothers always knew, and it didn't matter whose mother it was. To Pandora's immense relief, the most she received was a gentle smile before the woman resumed her work.

"Do you need any help?"

Mrs. Weasley spoke over her shoulder as she prepared something in a bowl. "Oh, no, dear, I'm quite all right. Thank you."

Footsteps and creaking floorboards were heard overhead and Pandora smirked. "So you're going to feed...eleven hungry people all by yourself?" The busy witch turned to face Pandora, her fists planted on her hips, a mixture of deep thought and amusement lining her face. "I used to cook all the time at home. I won't ruin anything, I promise." she finished with a convincing grin. The sounds of water and sibling rivalry were soon heard and Mrs. Weasley sighed in resignation.

"All right, then. Come here...let's see, now...you can work on the meats and table while I start the potatoes, eggs, and pancakes. You can season them any way you like, but if no one likes them, I'm denying having anything to do with it." They shared a cheeky grin and Pandora started on the ham. "Well, that didn't seem so inappropriate."

Pandora chuckled. "It hasn't come back full force yet. Seems to be slightly jet-lagged."

"Sorry, dear?"

Pandora had to think about what she had said before it occurred to her that witches and wizards had no idea about airplanes. "It's tired. That sense of humour of yours needs some rest after that exhausting vacation."

:::

Pandora glanced around the table in pride as the Weasley men grunted their approval at the large breakfast meal. Ron was picking at the last bits of sausage when he spoke. "Mum, 'dis taste' a li'le di'rent 'den normal...new recipe? I like it..."

Pandora found it possible to smirk and blush at the same time. "Pandora helped me with breakfast; cooked up the meats while I tended to the rest."

Ron stopped chewing his overly large mouthful of sausage and all but gaped at Pandora. "You made 'dis?" She nodded. "Blimey..."

George attempted to silent a burp behind his hand and sighed in contentment. "Ah, the way to a man's heart..."

Pandora and Hermione helped clear the table once every bite and morsel was cleaned off of every plate and Mrs. Weasley set the dishes to wash themselves while she headed upstairs to get ready for the day. Pandora turned to Hermione then. "Has everyone showered yet?"

Hermione swiped the last of the crumbs off of the table and hung the towel over the back of a chair, amusement etching her face. "Soon, you will understand that in a large family, no one is polite." Pandora raised an eyebrow. "If you want a shower, go and have one and if one of those pushy Weasley boys tries to talk you out of it, just slam the door in their face." She giggled at Pandora's expression and continued before making her way into the living room. "They'd do the same, trust me." And so Pandora did as she was instructed and clambered up the staircase towards the washroom, fresh clothes and hair supplies in tow. The last few steps before the landing saw George descending the final steps before the very same floor and their eyes met. A silent challenge was accepted and they raced towards the innocent door that barred their destination, tossing aside their personal needs. Two sets of hands clamped onto the tiny door handle and they struggled, one trying to scratch away at the others hands, the other attempting to bite. Pandora finally had enough leverage to shove her shoulder into his ribs and away from the wooden door. Without pause, she snapped it open and slammed it closed behind her, fits of giggles threatening to erupt in her chest. She knew George was still out there, and felt accomplishment spread through her body until he spoke.

"Forgetting _these_, are we?"

Pandora slapped her hand to her forehead in frustration. "Damn it all...any chance at all you could just pass those through?"

She could practically see the evil grin plastered upon his face as he spoke. "There's a chance that I could. Give up the shower, and maybe we'll talk."

Pandora rolled her eyes. "Are you actually keeping my clothes and shampoo hostage?"

"Unless you're planning on us taking the shower together, which I don't think ickle Ronnikins would like very much, I suggest you give. up. the. shower."

"George, what on _earth _are you doing with those clothes?"

Pandora instantly recognized Mrs. Weasley's voice and thanked the heavens.

"Mum, I – she's completely hogging the –"

"Who is?"

"The new one!"

"Hey! The 'new one' has a name, you git!"

"George, really. Give the poor girl back her things and you can wait! She's our guest."

Pandora waited with bated breath before the door creaked open and her things popped into view on top of the counter. Mrs. Weasley must have glared him into submission.

:::

Pandora had been staring at her plain reflection in Ginny's mirror for the past half an hour, remarkably undecided about her usual makeup routine. Her faithful eye liner remained poised, waiting for an order from her hand that would simply not come. It was frustrating. Since the day after she turned thirteen, this ritual had become second nature to her, and suddenly she could not bring herself to mask her face anymore. If she thought about it, there was really no reason to. She was not trying to cover up a bruise, or red, puffy eyes from crying; she was not trying to impress anyone by showcasing her intense irises. So what was the point?

With a resigned sigh, Pandora slammed the innocent little black pencil on top of Ginny's dresser and turned away from her reflection. She hadn't looked at her blank pallet of a face for this long in nearly five years. She knew she had changed, hopefully for the better, and so she decided to cleanse herself entirely of her past. Packing away her makeup bag with shaking hands, she stowed it away deep in her luggage case and exited the room. Everyone seemed to be downstairs, either in deep conversation or concentrating on a game of some sort, and so Pandora took this opportunity to help herself to a tour of the Burrow. There wasn't much to see past the loo, but there were names etched into each door she passed on the way up the stairs. It seemed as if rooms were added onto the house the more children were added to the family, and the final room she came across had 'Ron' written near the bottom. Pandora assumed he has done it himself when he was younger and a smile crept across her face.

Curiosity, as always, got the better of her, and without much convincing on her part, Pandora's hand found the small, brass handle and turned it ever so gently. The only warning she received before the door was pushed completely open was a cry of surprise and rustling of clothes.

"Bloody Hell!"

Ron, one foot stuck in a pair of trousers, lost his balance and landed on his bottom with a strained 'oof'. Pandora leaned against the door frame and amusedly took in the bright red pants that hung around his waist. Ron's scarlet ears started at his bare chest, which heaved from the shock of Pandora's unannounced visit. Hasty and graceful as a three legged cat with an inner ear infection, he shoved his long legs through the short trousers and stood, looking rather awkward as his gaze shifted from Pandora's eyes to her feet.

"Lovely knickers you have there."

"You've no shame, do you?"

Pandora grinned. "Absolutely none."

Pandora's smug expression faded once she noticed Ron staring a little too intently at her face, and she experienced that stupid sensation of feeling naked, stripped of her walls, that she sensed every time he looked at her this way. Her whole body stiffened as he took a careful step towards her, his eyes never leaving hers. Another step. Another. Pandora briefly pondered the fact that she hadn't blinked in nearly a minute before Ron's warm breath whispering across her face blew all thoughts from her mind. She was acutely aware of how close he was; how his bare chest rose and fell as his lungs filled with precious air; how his deep blue eyes, so full of emotion, were fixed on hers; how his lips were parted just slightly...

Pandora blinked. Mentally shook her head. Forced her crumbling walls to form themselves once again. Just like that, the moment had gone. "You...you're not wearing any...make up."

Pandora cleared her throat before replying, in case her throat had gone dry. "No. No, I...I thought I'd go for a change. Was it a bad idea?"

Ron shook his head a little too vigorously. "No! You look better without it, actually."

She couldn't stop the small smile that tugged at her lips. "Well, thank you."

He returned her smile. "Would you, err...like to play Wizards Chess? Downstairs, I mean."

"Is it similar to...normal chess?"

Ron shrugged. "Dunno. Never played normal chess."

Pandora chuckled. "Right. Well, you just teach me, then."

She made to leave the small room but paused as she realized Ron had one hand on the door and was prepared to depart as well.

"Ron?"

"Yeah?"

Sighing, Pandora patted his bare chest and continued out the door and down the staircase, grinning when she heard, "Oh. Right." and the sound of a closing door.

:::

Sweat threatened to bead upon her forehead from sheer concentration. They were in trouble. She had put her men in trouble, and now she was taking the heat herself. One brave soldier stood on trembling knees, awaiting her command, but she could not find it in herself to give it. Her opponent smirked, so confident in his victory of the battle that he could have leaned back into the couch and folded his arms behind his head.

"You're only delaying the inevitable, Witte."

Pandora peeked at Ron from beneath her drawn eyebrows and sighed in resignation as she moved her brave King in the warpath of Ron's greedy Knight. She flinched as her soldier crumbled to pieces under a furious _checkmate_. Groaning, Pandora ran her fingers through her hair and rested her head in her hands. "'ve never lost a bloody game before."

Ron reset the board and chuckled to himself. "Neither have I." Pandora shot him a dirty look. "In all fairness to you, you held your own really well."

Pandora rose from her spot of nearly four hours on the floor and stalked off to the kitchen. "Bloody Weasley...noble bloody Chess git..." Pandora lowered her voice in mock imitation of Ron. "'Held your own really well!'"

Ron spoke up from the couch. "You did!"

"Oh, blow it out your arse!"

"I don't really want anyone's arse blowing anything, actually."

The sound of Ginny's voice almost made Pandora jump. Almost.

"What are you still doing up, Gin?"

"I could ask you the same thing, dear brother. Don't tell me you two _just _finished that Chess game?"

"Took about four hours to finish it, actually." Ron nodded his head in Pandora's direction. "Sore loser, she is."

He dodged a sponge aimed by the 'sore loser' and stood up to stretch, his joints cracking from the lack of movement. Ginny hid her humour behind her hand and attempted to change the subject.

"Right, how 'bout we play a game that is actually quite fun to lose?"

Pandora scoffed, but her scepticism melted away once she saw a few choice bottles of unusual looking liquor and Hermione Granger.

:::

"Can you speci – specificic – speci...fy the question?" A drunk Hermione was concentrating perhaps a little too hard to finish her question, despite the barely finished bottle of Butterbeer set neatly beside her.

Ginny sighed, clutching her third shot of Firewhiskey. "You're first one ever, Hermione, not tonight."

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly! I have had...Butterbeer before. So I don't drink?"

"You don't drink."

Pandora stifled a chuckle with the back of her hand before asking her question. "Take a shot if you've...hmm...broken a bone."

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Pandora took a swig of their drinks. The smooth, burning sensation of the Firewhiskey as it coursed down her throat made Pandora feel...nothing. Nothing at all. And she liked it.

"Take a shot if you've..." Ron pondered his question as he tapped the brim of his bottle against his chin. "...driven a Muggle...thing."

Pandora sighed and threw back her head as she felt the now familiar burning sensation again. As she refilled her empty glass, she noticed everyone looking at Ron expectantly.

"What?"

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and adjusted his glasses. "Second year."

Ron's eyebrows rose in understanding and he swigged his beverage. "Can't believe I forgot that one."

Pandora leaned back on her elbows and glanced to her right at the tall redhead. "You'll have to explain that one later." Ron flashed a grin and nodded. "Harry?"

"Take a shot if...you've punched somebody in the face."

Hermione burst into a fit of giggles, making it even more difficult than usual to sip her Butterbeer. Harry, along with Ginny, Ron and Pandora, knocked back their drinks as well and shared a knowing grin between the five of them.

"All right, take a shot if...you've...ever wanted to kill someone."

The shots were hesitant, but Harry and Pandora tipped their glasses to their mouths. The room was silent for a moment before Ginny's question completely changed the mood of the place.

"Take a shot if you've had sex."

Hermione nearly toppled over. Harry choked on his final gulp of Firewhiskey. Ron's leg began twitching violently. Ginny smirked. Pandora swigged.

The room went silent once more. The air was thick with tension and although no one moved, everyone's eyes shifted towards Ron, whose jaw seemed to be stuck agape. His teeth clicked shut, his mouth opened to speak, and closed again, before he finally spoke.

"H-how...um..."

Pandora reached over and grasped the long, dark bottle to measure a shot in her glass and swung her head back. Six times. "Right, then. Next question?"

The timing couldn't have been more perfect for the sound of creaking floorboards heard from above. Without a word, Ginny, Hermione and Harry took off towards the kitchen and up the steps to the first room, bottles in tow, while Pandora made to hide the glasses. She paused only when she noticed Ron had not moved at all.

"Ron? You need to move, mate." She knelt in front of him and peered into his hazy eyes. "Ron! Someone's coming, you fool!"

Once she realized a few swift slaps to his cheek proved futile, Pandora took a firm hold of his arm and dragged him onto the couch, all too aware of his expressionless face and the increasing volume of the groaning stairs. Ron was promptly thrown onto the soft cushions and barely had time to process the situation before Pandora all but leaped on top of him, ignoring the sudden gust of air that escaped his lungs from her weight, and tossed several thick blankets over their stiff forms. For added measure, she clamped her hand over his mouth and touched a finger to her fingers in case the current situation hadn't quite sunken into his thick skull. Pandora's breath caught in her throat once she heard the door creak open and she daren't move a muscle. Ron's eyes finally widened in comprehension and she felt his muscles tense beneath her as he waited until the door creaked close once more. Both witch and wizard sighed in relief and Pandora hastily lifted herself up and settled on the floor before the situation became too awkward.

Slowly and quietly, Ron settled beside the raven haired woman and settled his gaze on the window set in the opposite wall. "Six."

Pandora stole a glance at the ginger beside her before responding. "Yes. Six." Ron looked highly conflicted. "Is that a problem?"

He shook his head and that was when the anger spread across his face as he glared at the wall. "No. Not at all. Why would it be a problem?"

Pandora's natural defensiveness reared up and she retorted with a little more acid then she had intended. "Why don't you tell me?"

Ron's head snapped towards Pandora, a mixture of anger and hurt in his intense blue eyes. "It's not bloody right –"

"I'm gonna stop you right there. If you're gonna pick a fight with me, Ron, at least don't hold back on me."

He took a moment, breathing a little too deeply, looking a little too calm. "It's not fucking right for someone like you to just...fucking give away your damn body like that, Pandora! You deserved so much better than that..."

Pandora glared long and hard at Ron, considering her words before she spoke them. "How do you know what I deserved? What makes you think I just 'gave it away', just like that?" She blinked back betraying tears. "Why do you even care? You didn't know me then! I don't belong to you!"

"But I respect you, Pandora! I fucking respect – did _they _respect you? I mean, did they even –"

"Before you go any further...my..." Pandora cleared her throat and found great interest in the carpet by her feet. "My first time, I thought...I thought I was in love, all right? And I thought...I thought he felt the same. But he really didn't. I learned too much from that experience. I treated the others the same way I was treated."

She couldn't bring herself to look into Ron's eyes, too afraid to see the disgust she knew she would find.

"So, you didn't respect them." Pandora shook her head. "Did it make you feel any better?"

"Oh, I felt brilliant...for about an hour afterwards. By then, I felt like I had after my first time. I kept figuring it would get better, but...by the sixth time, I was beginning to feel numb."

She could feel the hesitation rolling off of Ron and continued to expect the worst. "When...when was the last time?"

Pandora turned her head towards him yet she avoided his eyes. "Last summer."

She could feel his gaze burning into her skin, but, still, she refused to look into his face. Surprise took over every emotion the moment his rough fingers slid across her cheek and forced her eyes on his. There was no disgust. There was no hatred, no repulsion, no anger. Nothing to make her feel ashamed or guilty. All she felt was...fire. Fire in her veins, burning her muscles, heating her cheeks, and it did not make any sense to Pandora how such simple acts could cause such extreme sensations, but the last thing on her mind was trying to stop them.

"When I look at you...all I see is you. I don't see an abusive father. I don't see a lost mother. I don't see one night stands. I don't see this mask you've been hiding behind. I just see...Pandora. Nothing you say or do will change that. I just...it won't change that."

Pandora nodded slowly, taking in the feel of his bold hand grazing her cheek, caressing her thick, silky hair, stroking her smooth neck with now timid fingers. But one thought roamed her mind, one very dangerous thought.

"You don't touch me like a silly little boy anymore."

Ron gulped as he searched her careful poison-green eyes. "Don't feel like a silly little boy."

Pandora's heart pounded against her ribcage so ferociously that it must be heard in the evening air and try as she might to calm it down, it refused to listen.

"_Harry? What on earth are you doing in Ginny's room? Out, out, off to Ron's room! Go on!_"

**:::**

**DONE! Bloody hell, that's a lot. I'm just wondering if you've noticed the names of my chapters and how they match a completely random line in the chapter. Do you like the idea? Should I keep doing it in future stories? Anywho, again it's 1 am (I do that a lot), and I'm gonna update this now. Let me know what you think of it =) And THANK YOU FOR READING!**

**PS: **_Amour veut tout sans nombre, amour n'a point de loi _**is **_Love wants everything without condition, love has no law _**in French, by Pierre de Ronsard. Just don't wanna get sued o.O**


	15. Once I require its use as a loo

**Oh my Rowling, you all hate me now, don't you? =\ I'm really sorry! I already Crucio'd myself, and I'm not even sure if that's possible or not! I won't plague you with excuses, just the combination of a new job that I started in April and severe writers block made for...a really long time to update. But I'm unstuck now! I have already started the next chapter and I apologize that this one isn't as long as usual but I couldn't stuff any more into this one and end it where I wanted it to. So just read. Not my best chapter but there are parts I like. Man it's like 3 months in the making, I can't even fully remember what I have here now...let me know! I will never abandon this story, btw =)**

**:::**

Harry could not keep the maroon blush out of his cheeks once his eyes met Pandora's as they crossed paths on the staircase. He flashed a tight, unconvincing smile before casting his eyes down and heading towards the kitchen below. Pandora chuckled as she recalled the high pitched shriek that emerged from Mrs. Weasley's lungs the night before as she insistently ushered Harry out of Ginny and Hermione's bedroom, up the levels of the Burrow and into Ron's unsuspectingly empty room. The task of getting Ron quickly and quietly into the safety of his quarters was unnerving on its own.

Closing the door of the loo behind her, Pandora set her things on the counter and shed her loose t-shirt and flannel pyjama bottoms before setting the shower water to a desired temperature. Steam filled the small area and she sighed as the night before seemed to swirl down the drain alongside soapy water, and every tense muscle and rigid limb relaxed and melted beneath the sweltering waterfall. Regretfully short but blissfully clean, she stepped out of the ancient tub and dried off her smooth skin before wrapping her long, thick hair in a towel. Mere moments passed and Pandora emerged from the washroom, refreshed and hungry, donning a comfortable pair of jeans and a casual sweater.

Before her eager hand could completely wrap around the small doorknob to the kitchen, the sound of two familiar voices stopped her momentum and she decided to head back up the staircase and leave whoever was in there to speak in peace. Her plan quickly dissipated once she heard Hermione's voice.

"Ron, that's okay. Really...I...I feel the same way."

Pandora's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"You do? Bloody...that's a relief. I didn't want things...I didn't want it to get –"

"I know." A small pause. "Do you think it will come as a surprise to anyone?"

"Nah. Not now...maybe two or three years ago."

"I suppose you're right. We'd been a bit blunt about our feelings before. I wonder what had changed?"

"The war. Put things in perspective. I mean, life's too short, Hermione. We all need to grow up really fast now. Know what we want a lot sooner than we should."

A moment of silence. "You've grown up, Ron. You're more mature now."

Ron snorted. "Is that a good thing?"

Hermione chuckled. "Just...don't lose your Ron-ness."

"My what? Is that even..."

Pandora didn't waste her time listening to the rest of their cosy little conversation. She refused to digest the fact that what she had just heard made her frown. Made her stomach turn to ice. Made her chest clench almost painfully. She didn't want to know why she felt this way. All she wanted to do at that moment was be somewhere else. See someone else. Hear something else. But for the first time since she arrived, the loud and constantly buzzing household was abnormally quiet and everyone seemed to be in their separate rooms. Her only saving grace was the thunderous sound of someone descending the staircase and Pandora found herself face to face with Fred.

"Better speed up there, Fred, you might be late for something."

Fred blinked in surprise but recovered quickly. "Amazing guess. You only had a fifty – fifty chance of getting that right."

Pandora smirked. "You'll find that I do not guess; I give an educational response."

"Careful with that confidence, Witte. You might just end up like us."

Pandora raised an eyebrow. "Or you two could end up like me. Now, there's a frightening thought."

Fred chuckled. "You know what, little one? You're not half bad."

Pandora scoffed as Fred draped an arm over her shoulder. "Not half bad...anyone would be hard pressed to top that compliment."

Fred patted her shoulder affectionately. "Oh yeah. You'd make an excellent sister."

Pandora blanched. Sister? "What...what do you mean?"

Fred feigned an exaggerated look of surprise. "Don't tell me that intelligence you were boasting about only a moment ago has eluded you?" Pandora raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "It's only too obvious, maybe that's why you can't see it."

"And what exactly is it that I'm not seeing?"

Fred winked. "Oh, you'll see it eventually, young one."

Pandora rolled her eyes and peeked at the ginger twin beside her. "So, where were you off to in such a hurry?"

His eyes widened. "Blimey, you nearly made me forget about that! I'm trying to find a place of solitude to work on Georgie's gift, and in case you haven't figured it out by now, having twelve other people stay in such a condensed space makes that solitude rather hard to find."

Pandora chuckled. "Lock yourself in the loo for a few hours. Just tell whoever seems eager for a leak that you shouldn't have had that last sausage."

"Ugh, that's vulgar, Witte. I like it!"

She blinked in surprise. "I was joking, actually. I'm not quite sure who's odder, you or your brother, though it's amazing how two people who are so alike on the outside can be so different on the inside."

Fred couldn't seem to disguise the shock that spread across his face as Pandora made her way up the rest of the staircase towards Ginny's room, completely oblivious to that fact that she had just rendered a Weasley twin speechless.

"Your temporary workshop had better be empty once I require its use as a loo."

:::

"Lovely day for a Quidditch game." George exclaimed as he took in the dark grey clouds that loomed over the countryside.

Ginny raised an unimpressed eyebrow and spoke in a monotone voice. "Shame I didn't bring my sunglasses, really."

Fred ruffled Ginny's hair as he passed her, causing her to yelp and slap at this hand before attempting to fix her red locks. "No need to be so snippy, dear sister. This is the best day we've had in weeks."

The teams were picked for the strange game, with Fred and George picking up Ginny and Harry and Bill and Charlie with Ron. Broomsticks littered the frozen ground and it was then that it clued in to Pandora what this game was about.

"Oi! We're short a player! Hermione...Pandora...please..."

Hermione backed away fearfully, clearly frightened of the seemingly harmless broomstick. "Not fond of heights, Bill."

Bill, Charlie and Ron turned their pleading eyes towards Pandora, who raised her hands defensively and chuckled nervously. "And I'm not fond of a sport that consists of heights and cleaning supplies."

"Have you ever even tried it?" questioned Ron.

"Yes, Ron. Hopping on brooms is a regular occurrence in the Muggle world."

George chuckled. "Poor Ickle Ronniekins, always behind in the latest news. All right, Pandora, hop on. Let's see what you're capable of fifty feet in the air."

Pandora's eyes widened and she placed her hand firmly at the center of George's chest, her fierce look trembling with an edge of fear. "F-fifty feet? On that?" George nodded patiently while Ginny muffled a giggle behind her hand and the others began choosing their brooms and setting out round objects. "Look, Tweedle Dee, I plan on staying as far from fifty feet as humanly possible."

George scoffed and stepped over to an old, battered broom as he spoke. "Not afraid of heights, are you?"

"I'm fine with heights. It's falling I'm afraid of."

The playful Weasley twin shook his head in amusement. "All right, then." He stood with the broom in position. "I won't let you fall."

Pandora let out a hearty laugh, distracting from her nervous gaze as she glanced at the broom in George's hands. "You're right. I won't fall. Because I'm not going up there."

The dark haired witch barely had time to process the evil grin that had spread across George's face before he swiftly lifted her tall form over his shoulder and headed towards the small opening in the front yard, Pandora and broomstick in tow. Her fists thundered against his back and her legs flailed wildly, but her best efforts to free herself proved futile once she found that she was now straddling the broom. She unwillingly gripped at the rough wood handle and the last thing he felt before the gut-lurching take off was George wrapping his arms around her to grip the old broom. Pandora's eyes squeezed shut as she felt the cold winter air whip across her face and tear through her hair. She was jolted back into the moment by an amused voice in her ear.

"We're only up about forty-seven feet. You can open your eyes, you know."

Pandora chuckled darkly. "Decided to stay a few feet short of the quoted fifty feet, did you?" She sighed heavily and popped open an eye to peek at the view. Only in her mind would she admit how lovely everything seemed up there, despite the grey clouds and frozen greenery. "You're rather lucky that you've decided to be this close to me when I'm clearly more terrified than I am angry."

"Which is exactly why I plan on making myself scarce for a few hours once I reach the ground."

"Only a few hours?"

"Oh, come now, Witte. Look...just open your eyes. Do you feel like losing your breakfast?"

"I could just lose it on you and call ourselves even." Pandora felt George lean away from her and fear gripped her once again as she felt his hands wrap around her white-knuckled grip on the handle and attempt to pry open her fingers. Her arms were forced open like wings and she could almost hear the smirk spreading across his face.

"There. Freddie, if you will."

A quiet grunt caused Pandora to peek around behind her before she realized that George had hopped off of the broom she was sitting on and onto a broom tossed by Fred in midair. Her hands flew back to the handle and she took the moment to look around. Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, Harry, Ginny, and Ron were weaving around in the open air, lobbing an old, battered ball back and forth between the seven of them, perfectly at ease and incredibly agile. She may have even enjoyed watching if she had any clue how to manoeuvre the thing. Every fibre of her being was screaming, 'let me down!', and to Pandora's amazement, the old, splintery broom listened, though there was nothing to be desired for its smoothness. She nearly kissed the frozen ground when her feet hit the earth, but she settled for leaning the broom stick against a nearby tree and stiffly made her way towards Hermione, the voices of Bill and Charlie fighting with Fred and George over who would get Ginny or Harry in the background.

"Lovely git of Weasley, don't you think?"

Hermione chuckled. "Which one?"

Pandora shook her head in slight amusement as she settled on the thick, woollen blanket beside the brunette witch. "How many of these things does that woman own? You'd think she was trying to solve every problem in the world with food and blankets."

Hermione shrugged as she watched the simple game unfold. "Is that a bad thing?"

Pandora's eyes widened momentarily as she watched Ginny rush towards the ground to catch the oddly shaped ball and launch it towards Ron, who yelped and ducked his head. "No. Not at all. If there were more people like her, the world would be a much happier place."

Hermione smiled softly. "It might also help if Voldemort wasn't lurking around every corner."

"Yeah, he can put a bit of a damper on things."

There was a moment of silence as they watched Ginny cackling at Ron, red in the ears and yelling something about his neck while Harry swirled around the field, clearly enjoying the leisurely flight.

"Reminds you a bit of your mum, I think."

Pandora's eyebrows met in confusion. "Voldemort? Err...I didn't know he was the mothering type."

Hermione gave her a wry look. "Mrs. Weasley! Voldemort couldn't mother his own hair."

Pandora's heart pounded in her chest. The look in Hermione's eyes raised the suspicion in her mind and the only thought bouncing around in her head was...

"How did you know?"

"Pandora, you-"

"Did Ron tell you?"

Hermione blinked at the coldness in her voice. "Ron...knows?"

Pandora narrowed her eyes. "He didn't tell you?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, I-"

"Then how do you know?"

"Just...your behaviour." Pandora was ready to argue but Hermione pressed on. "Listen to me. You had no mother figure while we were at school, but when you met Mrs. Weasley and talked with her, you...changed. You became softer. You seemed more relaxed. Maybe I'm reading this all wrong, because there are no Death Eaters around, but...I just had a feeling."

Hermione was carefully avoiding Pandora's eyes, which were wide and sad. "She does." Hermione finally looked up. "Remind me a bit of my mum. She's strong. She just...almost loves too much, you know?"

Hermione nodded and they sat there, underneath a naked tree, in silent understanding. Hermione understood Pandora just a little bit more, and Pandora knew Hermione would never tell anyone of their $conversation.

:::

The constant bustling of the Burrow throughout the last few days seemed to have been diffused the morning before Christmas Eve and Pandora took this opportunity to begin creating her gifts for the family. She had no money to her name, but she did possess a lifelong talent for art and creativity and decided the only way she could possibly thank the kind Weasleys for all they have done for her is to create homemade gifts that were personalized to fit each of their personalities, as well as Harry and Hermione. She was aware of how lame it would seem, receiving cheap, home crafted presents instead of the expensive, luxurious, helpful gifts they deserved, but she knew she'd feel terrible if she had nothing to show for her appreciation.

Pandora searched through her suit case and various bags for any possible supplies and emerged with a bit of clay, some clean cardboard, an old but pretty journal, a mirror that belonged to her father's mother, a small piece of cedar wood, a sketch book with thick pages and a small bag with various art supplies. She sat down in a corner in the cozy living room and glanced over her options, ideas forming themselves in her mind. She decided to begin with what seemed to be the simplest idea and delicately picked up the old journal and examined it, deciding that it would suit Hermione best. She made no changes to the cover, deciding the charm of the gift came from the lovely tattered look it had. Drawing in on her knowledge of the Latin language, Pandora tried muttering _'ink Sentential' _as she held the tip of her wand to the naked, yellow pages of the journal. Once finished with her work, she set her wand aside and held the journal firmly in her hands and a wide grin spread across her face as the words '_Merry Christmas, Hermione.' _appeared from out of nowhere upon the first page. For a witch with so many bloody thoughts coursing through her mind at every moment, Pandora thought a journal that wrote out its holders' thoughts might be a good idea.

Pandora turned her attention towards the sketchbook and decided to attach several sheets of paper together to make the cover of what would become a photo album for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, which would be painted maroon. After creating special slots where various photos could be placed, she cast a spell that allowed an unlimited amount of memories and pictures to be placed in the makeshift photo album. Pleased with her work, she picked up the old mirror and turned it over in her hand, deciding what to do with it and who to give it to. Pandora thought of a spell that would animate the mirror once held, and decided to give it a sense of humour useful in the recent dark times. She then turned her attention over to the small piece of cedar and rummaged through her bag of supplies for her wood carving knife. Within minutes, a small broom looking similar to one she had seen in a book once had appeared in her hands, the name 'Potter' engraved delicately into the handle. Pandora recognized the design of the old broom, knowing it was very popular around the time that Harry's father had attended Hogwarts. Satisfied with her work, she began working with the bit of clay she found and split it in half before working them both into the shapes of Fred and George, making sure to put the time into the small details and made them individuals. She cast a charm on each that allowed them to mimic the movements and conversations of each of the twins, as well as their personalities.

Pandora took a deep breath as she carefully considered her gift for Ron. She didn't quite know why she cared about this particular gift most of all, or why she worried more about his reaction than any other, but she knew what she wanted to create for him and had thought too long and hard about it to turn back now. So as she held the blank piece of this cardboard, she imagined in her mind the complicated spell she needed to accomplish for the effect of the gift to work. She felt a slight release from her mind and felt ecstatic as she watched something sketch itself upon the plain cardboard and realized the moving drawing was playing out memories of her sister, of her mother...of the first time Ron had ever spoken to her. Pandora decided to place the gift on the floor before too much revealed itself and watched curiously as the memory faded away before her eyes.

"You made those?"

Pandora gasped and attempted to hide what she had just made before glaring up at Harry. "You little – why didn't you – what did you see?"

Harry shrugged. "Just those pieces of clay, and that mirror..." Pandora became suddenly aware of how sharply his sentence ended and she raised an eyebrow. "...and that piece of cardboard." She sighed and lowered her gaze down to her hands folded in her lap. "You don't talk about them much."

Pandora had to hold back an exasperated sigh. Why was everyone suddenly so nosey about her past and her family? How did it concern anyone at all? She turned for the defensive. "Why should I talk about them? Are they really any of your business?"

Harry seemed unfazed by her sharp words and simply shrugged his shoulders. "Just curious." He dropped his gaze to the floor and shoved his hands into his pockets. "If I had a family, I'd talk about them all the time."

Bloody hell.

Pandora replied without thinking, deciding that she had no reason to hide anything anymore. "So would I." Harry's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion for a mere moment before a reluctant wave of understanding washed across his face. "It's quite complicated, but...my sister is safe somewhere. And that's all I care about."

His sharp eyes flickered to the plain, white cardboard. "You...don't have to talk about it."

Pandora flashed a cheeky grin. "I wasn't going to."

Harry flashed a tight grin and made to leave the room, but he hesitated and she glanced up at him curiously. "You...what are you making anyways?"

"Christmas gifts. I'm not exactly swimming in gold, so...I'm afraid they won't be very good."

Harry grinned and spoke as he exited the room. "You have nothing to worry about. This family thrives off of home made things."

:::

The small room buzzed with chatter and the sounds of food cooking and cutlery and plates being set on the wood table. Pandora leaned her head back against the wall that she had been sitting by for hours while completing her gifts and adding finishing touches. Although she wasn't able to spend copious amounts of gold on them, she could at least satisfy herself with putting a large amount of time and energy into such simple things. She had spent the better part of two hours attempting to duplicate a wonderful bit of magic she had witnessed in the house and it took a lot out of her. Deciding she should safely stow away her creations so she could help out in the kitchen, Pandora forced herself onto her feet and placed everything carefully in her suitcase beside the couch. The large family was just beginning to sit down for the feast and much to Pandora's dismay, the only seat available was beside Ron and due to the high volume of Weasleys it was a tight fit. Shaking her head, she approached the table and pulled out the chair.

"Something wrong, dear?"

It suddenly became very quiet and Pandora silently cursed herself for being foolish. "I'm fine. Just tired, that's all."

"Blimey, we've barely seen you all day. What have you been up to?"

She forced herself to relax and answered Ron's question. "Just been reading. Trying to get my mind off things." She finally settled herself into the chair, but felt no less uncomfortable than when she was standing.

"Like what?" Fred inquired.

Charlie spoke before she could choke out an answer. "The war, of course. What else has been going on that we all wish we could forget about?"

And just like that, the table was buzzing with four different conversations once again. Pandora sighed heavily and began dishing out food with the assumption that she was off the hook this time when she was pulled out of her thoughts by Ron.

"Seriously, though. What's on your mind?"

She stiffened when she realized just how close his voice was to her ear and refused to look him in the eye. "Nothing."

Ron chuckled softly and cut into a large piece of pork. "There is never 'nothing' going on in your mind."

Pandora sighed and stuffed a potato in her mouth. "People are getting more curious about my past. It's unnerving." It wasn't the whole truth, but she wasn't lying either.

He cast a sideways glance at her. "Who?"

"Hermione knows about my mum." His eyes widened and his attention turned to Hermione for a moment. Pandora couldn't explain the odd twinge that tore at her gut. "Harry suspects something. I only mentioned my sister briefly." His intense gaze was on her again. "And your mum...I swear, if I didn't know any better, I'd say she knew just about as much as you do."

Ron swallowed his peas. "They won't judge you, you know. If you tell them. I'm not saying you should or shouldn't, but..."

"That's all they need. More 'happiness' to spread around."

Ron rolled his eyes. "That's what family is there for. If you've got something on your mind and its bothering you, just go and talk to them about it. I mean, if you can't talk to family then –"

"Why do you speak of them as if they are _my_ family? They are _your _family Ron. I would just be another burden, if I'm not already."

"That's not true, and you know it."

Pandora finally met his blue-eyed gaze and there was a finality in his eyes that suggested she not press the matter any further. She gave in to his stare and returned her attention back to her food and decided that she was no longer hungry.

With so much on her mind, she found it hard to sleep that night, desperately trying to block out the images of Mrs. Weasley being beaten by her father and Ginny being torn away from her grasp and Ron being slashed across the throat for refusing to give up important information. For a brief moment during the night, she found peace when she felt something soft and warm surround her hand and touch her cheek, but that feeling ended only too soon and the nightmares invaded her mind once more. It never occurred to her how odd it seemed that the Weasleys seemed to be replacing her own family while she slept through the horrors until she awoke alone in the dark, cold sweat dripping down her face and drenching her clothes which shook as she heaved unsteady breaths. Although pleased to see she did not wake up in tears, the nightmares that were now burned in her mind had shaken her up and she clambered up the steps of the Burrow to the wash room to take a long, hot shower.

After hastily towel drying her hair, Pandora quietly made her way back down the winding stairs and started boiling water for her tea. She knew it was much too early in the morning to be walking around the kitchen wide awake, but she refused to open her mind to her subconscious once more and decided that sipping a hot, steaming mug of tea would calm her nerves. The warmth of the drink spread through her body as it slid down her throat and her muscles slowly began to relax. Sighing contentedly, she rested her head on her hand and thought about what tomorrow might bring and pondered what everyone`s reaction would be to her gifts. She didn`t know why she cared so much or why she so badly wanted their approval, but Ron`s words to her last night echoed in her mind. _That`s what family is there for. If you can`t talk to family then-_

"What are you doing up so early?"

Pandora's heart leaped into her throat and she twitched so violently that her tea spilled over the sides and scalded her hand.

"Oh buggering fuck!" she hissed fiercely.

There was a brief sound of scrambling along with a _thud_ of wood – on – wood, and suddenly large, rough hands tenderly held her burnt one.

:::

**There it is! I hope it was worth the wait! Again, very sorry. I give you permission to **_**Rictumsempra **_**me =P So review, please, let me know what you think, even one just makes my day. And like I said, I am starting the next chapter right now! The creative juices are floating. The spell I made up here, **_**ink Sentential...**_**well I forgot what it means now =P But what it does is write out the thoughts of the person holding it. I had fun coming up with ideas for the gifts Pandora made too! I like making gifts as well, and this is what I'd do if I wasn't a Squib...sigh. And I wanted to mention my reason for having Pandora be afraid of heights and have no natural ability to fly, even though its very menial. I don't want her to be perfect. She's beautiful, intelligent, quick witted, wise...I just didn't want her to be amazing at Quidditch. Too much, I think. Just wanted to mention that. And I know her past is far from perfect. And now I'm rambling and there probably aren't too many of you reading this far now! Off to finish my next chapter!**


	16. Between His Glowing Ears And That Nose

**I will start off by saying how much it bothers me when people don't update their stories frequently enough. And I hate myself for not updating enough. I know it's annoying =\ so for that I sincerely apologize. BUT I hope to make it up to you with this chapter. I have to say, so far, it is my favourite. It may be a little mushy and not a whole lot happens, but for the next while there won't be much time for mushiness. **

**And I keep forgetting to bring up Pottermore. Merlin. What do you think of it? I hear a lot about how boring it is and this and that, but I think it's really cool that we can find out so much more about the characters! It's a fanfic writers dream, I tell you. Well, my username is CrimsonWatch81 =) I'm in Slytherin!**

**Ok, read.**

:::

"Bloody hell, are you alright?"

Pandora looked up into Ron's deep blue eyes and noticed regretfully just how close he was to her. She could count his every eyelash, feel every exhale of his warm breath, and see every emotion float to the surface in his gaze. He really was terrible at hiding what he was feeling, but Pandora could not explain what she saw. Finally, his attention returned to her hand and she felt as if she could breathe again and she would made a witty remark about her current situation but she suddenly felt very aware of her tongue and her careful intake of air was interrupted when she felt his now cool breath whisper across her hand like silk and she froze. Concern etched his features as he attempted to calm the burn, but he was only making it worse as Pandora was fighting against the fire that streaked through her blood at his touch. His lips were simply too close to her skin and she could not understand why such simple, innocent acts were causing such a range of emotions to erupt within her soul but she couldn't control a damn thing and it was frustrating. Surely, he must have heard her heart rate double in speed once he looked up from what he was doing. Surely, he must have seen past her carefully built walls as he searched her eyes. But she could not look away. His powerful, blue irises glanced down hesitantly and hungrily at her extremely dry mouth and as if suddenly aware of it, she ran her tongue along her lower lip. She was barely aware of him removing one of his long hands from her distantly throbbing one to slowly graze her cheek. His movements were slow, as if he was waiting for her to stop him, but she didn't think she had it in her to move at all. Ron's shy yet determined touch slid down to her neck and his fingers played with a small strand of her hair before he seemed to have made a decision.

Pandora couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. All she could do was just stand there and stare at his lips.

His face moved ever so carefully toward hers and his eyelids closed to hide his piercing gaze. This seemed to break Pandora free of the spell he had on her.

"Hermione..."

Pandora's eyebrows furrowed together at how husky her voice had sounded, but with Ron's face mere centimetres away from hers, it was the most effort she could make in that moment. Ron looked slightly dumbfounded but he did not move from where he was.

"It's...it's 'Ron', actually. Common misconception, really."

Pandora shook her now clearing head looked fiercely into his eyes. "No. Hermione." Ron looked more confused and Pandora became irritated. Did he already forget about that woman? "You're with Hermione."

His eyebrows rose into his hairline. He was busted.

"Wha – I – I'm not with Hermione." He stuttered. Pandora slowly withdrew her hand from his and backed away from his hand curled around her neck. "Pandora, I...what makes you think that?"

She didn't have the time or patience for his silly games. "I heard you, alright?" His eyes shifted back and forth as if trying to remember something. "Honestly Ron, you sounded so bloody sincere when you two were talking. I didn't think you'd forget this damn easily." Ron blanched at her tone, completely taken aback by her words. "You and Hermione were in the kitchen yesterday morning. I heard both of you confess your feelings for each other. Now, I don't disapprove, but I'm quite disgusted that you could forget so soon."

He finally seemed to understand. A small part of her, a part that she ignored, wished he'd keep up with the facade. "Yesterday...but that was – Pandora, we were – "

"I don't want to hear it! But you should leave."

A familiar look spread across his face. She recognized it as stubbornness. "Would you just fucking listen to me?"

Pandora's eyes snapped to him in shock.

"How much of that did you even hear?"

She had never been this intimidated by him before, but she narrowed her eyes. "Enough."

Ron shook his head and took a step back from her. "Obviously not. I was telling her that I don't have feelings for her anymore! We were trying to clear the fucking air because we were clearly losing interest in each other. So, I had to tell her because I'm fall – "

Pandora motioned for him to continue his sentence, but all he said was, "So, I had to tell her. Now, you have all the facts. Make your decision. I've made mine."

She didn't know what to say. She felt so very foolish, assuming something that she knew nothing about and letting her feelings think for her. She hadn't done that in quite a long time. She only wished that her heart would calm down as she tried desperately to ignore the smile that threatened to show itself. Merlin, what was wrong with her? Acting like a lovesick puppy over...

His intense eyes captured her once more.

Damn.

"Well?"

"What is your decision, exactly?"

Ron shook his head in amusement. "No. For once, I think I have _you _in a vulnerable spot." Pandora's eyes bulged at his bold statement. "Let me know when you've made a decision then."

She stared after him as he departed the kitchen, feeling absolutely speechless. Maybe she had done too good of a job on his confidence. He now possessed more than she could deal with at the moment.

What the bloody hell just happened?

:::

Christmas Eve dinner had turned out to be quite awkward for the raven-haired witch, only because she ended up sitting directly across from that confident, red-headed git. He glanced at her knowingly and shamelessly throughout the feast and she cursed the fact that he was in her direct line of vision. She thanked the heavens above that everyone seated was too busy to notice her flustered blush when she and Ron reached for the bowl of peas at the same time. She felt like a silly little girl now, and she simply despised the feeling but she found it extremely hard to control her body anymore. Pandora was almost disgusted with herself for being so worried about menial things when the entire wizarding world was in such peril and devastation.

Simply to clear her head, Pandora offered to wash the dishes while everyone visited and talked in the living room. She pondered the decision she would make about Ron, but realized she really had no idea what he was talking about. Was she to assume again? Allow her feelings to think for her? No. She had already done that and it only made her look foolish. So she would just wait. Maybe everything would suddenly make sense to her and an answer would conclude in her mind.

Not bloody likely.

The rest of the night was full of laughter and jokes and stories of the past and for a little while, the war was temporarily forgotten. Pandora found out so much more about the large family, like how much larger it actually was, with cousins and aunts and uncles all over the country. She was amazed at how old the lineage was in these bloodlines and became very aware of how little she had known about her grandparents. Tales of each Weasley captured her attention, most of them being told by either Fred or George, and nearly every one of them had her in stitches. Pandora enjoyed the evening spent with a normal family who laughed and loved and enjoyed life. She had even nearly forgotten about what had happened with Ron earlier and simply enjoyed hearing about the time his older brothers had set a fake fire to his hair that couldn't be put out with water and Mrs. Weasley couldn't hide the amusement lining her disapproving expression. Unfortunately, the night had to come to an end and everyone made a drowsy attempt to clamber up to their rooms while Pandora worked on getting her own bed ready. To her dismay, Ron was the last one left.

"Have you made a decision yet?"

Pandora sighed. "Could I get a choice of what to decide on?"

Ron grinned and shook his head. "Come on, Pandora. I know you're not stupid."

She threw her hands up in the air. "Only when it comes to matters such as these, obviously."

He raised an eyebrow. "What matters would those be?" She blanched. "See? I knew that you knew what was going on." He casually headed for the door to the stairs. "You know where to find me."

Pandora remained where she stood for several moments after he left. What...?

:::

Caught somewhere between consciousness and sleep, Pandora groaned and willed her mind to relax for just a few more minutes. The natural instincts of her body took over and she became awake and alert too soon for her liking. Her hands rubbed the sleep from her eyes and she sat up on the couch before deciding she may as well change and get ready for the day. As she tugged on a pair of jeans and shrugged into a navy blue jumper, Pandora contemplated what this Christmas would bring. It had been nearly five years since she had spent one with someone she actually cared about and now there was an entire family, along with two new friends, to spend it with.

It felt odd to her to think that she had friends. The only true friend she had ever had before she came here was her sister. She never met someone else that she could trust and be open with, and now there were three of them. Three people she would trust with her life. And she couldn't explain why. Pandora was pulled out of her thoughts when she came face to face with Ron on her way to the wash room.

He grinned nervously as he stood rather awkwardly in front of her. "Happy Christmas."

"Err...Happy Christmas, Ron."

"What...what are you doing up so early?"

Pandora narrowed her eyes as she realized that his hands remained behind his back and he looked far too suspicious. "What are you hiding?" she retorted.

Ron was not very convincing as he feigned innocence. "Absolutely nothing. Why?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, let me see it. Come on."

"Don't be silly, there's nothing to see."

"All right, spin around for me, then." she smirked.

Ron scoffed. "Men do not 'spin'."

"Fine. Then let me see your hands."

He looked as if he were heavily contemplating something before a look of defeat appeared on his face. "Just, umm...back up." Pandora crossed her arms. "Please?"

Pandora sighed and retreated into the living room again before she turned to face Ron. He looked like he was struggling with himself, but he finally withdrew what he had been hiding. It was difficult to spot all the details of it, but its shape was recognizable by the curved body, long neck, and exactly six strings. Her eyes widened and she froze.

"Ron, what did you do?"

The tall ginger carefully made his way over to the guitars new owner, but she backed away fiercely, her eyes never leaving the object in his hand.

"Pandora, you...you told me it relaxes you...makes you happy. I thought- "

"Well, you thought wrong, didn't you?" Pandora's poison green eyes shifted from the instrument in his hand to his worried face.

"Will you please take it? I know you want to. I know it's hard and you don't want to go back to that place in your mind but...I just really want to hear you play it. I know it'll make you feel better."

The battle between her heart and mind began, and the silence stretched on, but Ron did not move or say a word. She sighed. She had shown this man every part of her soul so far. Why stop now? Swallowing a large lump in her throat, Pandora reached out a shaky hand to grasp the neck of the guitar and held it close to her trembling body before she picked delicately at each string in order to properly tune it. She noticed how used it looked, the wood surrounding the sound hole worn down to the original colour. She absolutely loved it and she felt as if she were glowing.

Pandora moved to sit on the couch, Ron right there beside her, staring in fascination as she finished tuning the old Les Paul. A familiar song sprung to her mind and she began idly strumming different chords, occasionally missing a note from lack of practice, but soon a soft sound with a haunting edge emerged from the hollow of the instrument.

"What is this song?" inquired Ron.

"It's a muggle song." Her concentration never lifted. "Probably never heard it."

"I don't care."

Her strumming ceased and she looked up into Ron's eyes to see such intensity in them that she felt as if she couldn't breathe for a moment. His eyes threatened to tear into her soul and a small part of her wanted him to.

"Could you sing it?"

Pandora silently cursed him for looking so bloody curious. "Err...I'm not very good..."

"I don't care."

Her will to resist him was fading away each time she looked at him and finally gave in completely. She was not sure how she could possibly give him any more of herself after this, but she cleared her throat and began strumming the tune once more, her eyes never leaving his as she sang.

"_Spend all your time waiting for that second chance,_

_For the break that will make it okay._

_There's always some reason to feel not good enough_

_And it's hard at the end of the day._

_I need some distraction, oh beautiful release._

_Memories seep from my veins._

_They may be empty and weightless and maybe_

_I'll find some sleep tonight._

_In the arms of an Angel, far away from here,_

_From this dark, cold hotel room and the endlessness that you fear._

_You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie._

_You're in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here._

_So tired of the straight line and everywhere you turn_

_There're vultures and thieves at your back._

_The storm keeps on twisting; you keep on building the lies_

_That you make up for all that you lack._

_It don't make no difference, escaping one last time._

_It's easier to believe_

_In this sweet madness, oh this glorious sadness_

_That brings me to my knees._

_In the arms of an Angel, far away from here,_

_From this dark, cold hotel room and the endlessness that you fear._

_You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie._

_You're in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here._"

The finishing notes of the song hummed through the still and silent air and neither of them spoke for several moments. Pandora could only hope that Ron understood what nearly every single line meant and why it was so important to her. She was unsure as to why she chose this particular song to play, but at the moment it was worth seeing all of the emotions pass over his eyes as she felt them herself; understanding, guilt, anger, sadness, concern all passed between their eyes and seeped into their veins.

She couldn't take the silence any longer. She needed him to talk.

"Ron, where...when...h-how...?"

Silly girl couldn't even talk herself.

Ron chuckled half-heartedly. "I...err...got it in London yesterday morning. Had a few scraps of Muggle money stowed away so, I thought I'd put it to good use."

Pandora shook her head in slight disbelief. "You spent your...Ron, why did you...I know you don't have much." she finished weakly.

Ron shrugged his broad shoulders. "I wouldn't have spent it on anything else."

Pandora gazed sullenly at her home made gifts. "I...have nothing." She sighed and reached for that clean piece of white cardboard, so plain in appearance that she felt uncomfortable clutching onto the smooth guitar. "Just this."

Ron's blue eyes shifted from her green ones to the gift in her hand and he tenderly grasped it. "What is it?"

"Just look."

He braced both hands on both sides of the cardboard and Pandora watched as the emotions danced across his face as he watched a certain happy memory sketch itself across the cover. At first he looked surprised, but soon a warm happiness spread across his eyes and she was instantly mesmerised.

"There`s a card too."

Ron's gaze lifted from the memory and glanced up at her, eyes filled with curiosity. He eyed the simple sheet of parchment in her hand and reached over to hold it in his own. His eyes widened and he glanced over at the Weasley clock hanging on the wall.

"How...blimey Pandora, how the bloody hell did you do that? Not even Dumbledore could figure the thing out..."

"Just...a full day of tampering with magic. It was quite fun, actually. Rather exhausting, but – _oof!_"

Pandora was thrown back into the cushions of the couch when Ron wrapped his arms about her shoulders and buried his face in her neck and thick hair. Although temporarily stunned, she tenderly snaked her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest, which rumbled in her ear when he spoke.

"Thank you."

She grinned against his soft shirt and tried to remember the last time she had felt so happy.

The small card with nine Weasley's carefully sketched and detailed, each appearing to be in mortal peril, lay beside the clean piece of cardboard, the simple memory of the first time Pandora had ever spoken to him slowly fading from the surface.

:::

"Mum...another one?"

The sound of Ron's exasperated voice caught Pandora's attention and she glanced over in his direction to see him holding up what looked like a hand-knit maroon jumper with the letter 'R' sewn in the front.

"Oh Ronald, you've already grown out of last years."

"Yeah, and I was finally rid of the bloody thing." Ron muttered under his breath. Pandora held back an amused snort.

"AAHG!"

Everyone in the room nearly jumped out of their skin at the sound of Ginny's scream

"FRED! GEORGE! YOU COMPLETE ASSHATS!"

"Oi, why are we always the assumed culprits?"

Pandora peeked over the top of Charlie's head to see a fuming Ginny covered in green slime that appeared to be moving across her skin.

"Because no one else has the audacity to pull a prank on Ginny knowing full well the effects of her Bat-Bogey Hex." countered Hermione. "_Scourgify._" The slime disappeared from Ginny's pale skin and dark green turtleneck jumper and she shot Hermione a grateful look.

"Fred, George, I thought I told you not to take the Joke Shop home with you?"

"Dear mother, if you really feel that way, then I suggest you not open the small blue one on your left." replied George as he pointed to a small box set innocently on the ground. Mrs. Weasley eyed the gift disapprovingly and instead reached for a lumpy looking package wrapped in ribbon.

"Pandora, dear, this is for you." she said with a warm smile.

Pandora froze and eyed package as if it might blow up at any moment, but she slowly took it from Mrs. Weasley's outstretched hand to avoid being seen as rude. Everyone in the room continued their vague chatter but it seemed quieter than before, more forced, and she suddenly became aware of everyone's eyes as they flickered towards her. She carefully hid her emotions from her face as she slowly unwrapped the gift to reveal a dark maroon coloured, hand-sewn jumper with the letter 'P' carefully stitched on the front. Her mask crumbled and she blinked rapidly against the moisture that threatened to spill from her eyes but she managed to hold everything back as she looked up into Mrs. Weasley's eyes and for a fleeting moment, saw her mother and her intense kindness. Her voice shook as she spoke.

"Th-thank you."

The rest of the morning was spent ripping open the remaining gifts and Pandora watched carefully as everyone received the home made things that she created. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked beside themselves with happiness at the photo album and gave Pandora the oddest look once they noticed the small note with their entire family's faces drawn on it. Fred and George cackled and proceeded to make their tiny figurines fight each other. Ginny grinned and tackled her to the ground as she gawked at the small mirror. Hermione's face lit up as she discovered what the seemingly simple journal could do. Even before Pandora received a few useful prank objects from Fred and George, a small moving picture from Ginny, and several large volumes about complicated magic from Hermione, she felt quite good about the reactions she saw form on everyone's face and had never felt so accepted in a whole family as she did at that moment.

The day continued on like this, with idle chat here and there mixed with the sounds of gifts being used and admired. Everyone ate sweets and drank Butterbeer throughout the entire afternoon and laughed with Pandora as she tried to teach them all Muggle Christmas songs on her new guitar.

"You know, this Rudolf bloke should pair up with dear old Ronniekins. Between his glowing ears and that nose..."

Ron's ears reddened to prove George's point and nearly everyone in the room roared with laughter, including Ron. All at once, Pandora was getting song requests of the strangest sort and heard titles of Christmas tunes that she had never heard of. So she made them up.

"Okay, okay, what was the name of that one you just mentioned, Gin?"

"'Enchanted Snowball.'"

Pandora crinkled her nose. "Really? That sounds so corny...all right then." She put on a very serious face, obviously trying not to laugh as she came up with a tune and lyrics to a song she didn't know.

"_What's that over there?_

_Oh, could it be?_

_Your Enchanted Snowball coming for me!_

_What's that yellow spot?_

_Oh, dear me._

_Your Enchanted Snowball in covered in-_"

Pandora's last words were drowned out by a sudden burst of laughter from Ginny and she found she could no longer finish the song anyways because her resolve finally cracked as she doubled over from her fit of hysterics.

"No more...no more requests, I just can't do it!" wheezed Pandora. "Okay, this is an odd one. Just follow me." She began a loping sort of tune and began with a smile on her face.

"_I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas_

_Only a Hippopotamus will do_

_No Crocodiles or Rhinoceros'_

_I only like Hippopotamus'_

_And Hippopotamus' like me too..._"

The song brought her back to the times that she sang it with her sister in their room, laughing so much at the strange lyrics that they rarely finished, and it brought some sort of warmth to her heart to see everyone grinning and laughing along with her.

Mrs. Weasley had outdone herself with the enormous meal she had set out. Pandora had no idea where she got it or how she had to room to make everything, but two monstrous turkeys took up most of the kitchen table while a smaller ham, a mountain of boiled potatoes and yams, a platter full of hot chips and several other large bowls of vegetables had been crammed into the center so the plates and goblets would fit. After stuffing everyone around the table and pulling on various Christmas Crackers, every last witch and wizard dug into the scrumptious meal and the room was filled with groans of approval.

:::

Pandora hadn't moved from her spot in front of the large window since the snow started to blanket the large lawn long after the family had gone to bed. Her arms rested upon her guitar which was slung over her shoulder and her fingers tingled from the numerous songs that she strummed on it, but still she played one last song.

"_Oh the weather outside is frightful_

_But the fire is so delightful_

_And since there's no place to go_

_Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow_

_It doesn't show signs of stopping_

_And I've got some corn for popping_

_The lights are turned way down low_

_Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow_

_When we finally kiss goodnight_

_How I'll hate going out in the storm_

_But if you'll really hold me_-"

"Why didn't you play that one?"

Pandora nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Ron's voice directly behind her. Amusement glinted in his eyes, along with something else she couldn't quite figure out.

"Oh, it's, um...too cutesy. I was just going for fun, faster songs."

Ron nodded, the unnamed _something _still in his eyes. "You can finish that one, you know."

Pandora nodded and scrunched up her eyes, trying to remember where she had left off. "Where was I..."

Ron cleared his through and suddenly looked nervous. "_When we finally kiss goodnight..._"

Pandora grinned. "_When we finally kiss goodnight_

_How I'll hate going out in the storm_

_But if you'll really hold me tight_

_All the way home I'll be warm..._"

While she sang the carol softly and slowly, Ron moved closer and closer to her until the only thing between them was her instrument. Her voice lowered to just above a whisper.

"_The fire is slowly dying_

_And my dear, we're still good-bying_

_But as long as you love me so_

_Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow._"

Ron smiled slightly, eyes now twinkling with that _something _that Pandora couldn't explain. "I like that one." he whispered.

Pandora gently cleared her throat. "I like this one." She strummed the guitar and inhaled deeply.

"_I don't want the world to see me_

'_Cause I don't think that they'd understand._

_When everything's meant to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am..._"

Ron searched her eyes as if looking for an answer. "Why?"

Feeling her resolve crumble once again under his gaze, Pandora shrugged casually and lifted the guitar and its strap over her head before settling down in front of the sofa. Ron followed suit and leaned back against the couch beside her, not pushing for an answer but refusing to leave without one.

"You should know that you made it exceedingly difficult for me to block you out of my life completely. Trust me, I've tried. For some reason, though, I felt this need to trust you. You seemed loyal. I thought myself a good judge of character and made the mistake of letting you in just a little bit." She recalled the day when she first stepped into the Room of Requirement. "It appears there was no going back after that. You wouldn't let me shut you out. And you...you kept witnessing my weeping." A small smile tugged at the corners of Ron's lips as he heard the exasperation in her voice. "I think I just needed, after all these years...I needed someone to go to."

"Do you regret it?"

Pandora looked straight into his deep, blue eyes then and replied.

"No. Though, if I were to regret anything, it'd be how close I feel to you now. Especially with the situation at Hogwarts..."

She leaned her heavy head against Ron's shoulder as sleep threatened to take over her mind. Ron boldly took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers.

"Nothing is gonna happen to us, got it?" Pandora nodded her head weakly and gave Ron's hand a small squeeze before falling into a deep sleep.

:::

The bright sun streaked through the curtains of the Burrow, and Pandora squinted against the light. Her neck felt cramped, her back ached and her bottom was numb. Her heart clenched almost painfully in her chest as she noticed her hand wound around Ron's and the previous night flooded her memory. Her head, which had rested against his shoulder mere hours before, had drooped to his chest and his chin was resting protectively on top of her head. Then, she game to a sudden conclusion about the night: she had no nightmares. In fact, she had had no dreams that she could remember whatsoever.

That hadn't happened in nearly ten years.

She subconsciously rubbed her thumb along the back of his hand and simultaneously heard his heartbeat quicken beneath his chest. Pandora peeked up from where her head lay to see his face and blinked in surprise when she saw he was awake.

"Morning." said Ron with a sleepy grin.

Pandora flashed a warm smile. "Morning."

Ron looked as if he were thinking heavily about something while his eyes flickered around her face. As if he reached a decision, he ever so slowly leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. Pandora felt her own heart rate double at the feel of his lips on her skin. What was wrong with her? Such a simple and innocent gesture should not create such a reaction, but it did. She stilled as he spoke, his lips still lingering over her face.

"Did you have a good sleep?"

His voice was deep. Deeper than usual. It rippled over her skin like silk.

"Yes." She struggled slightly using her tongue to speak. "Did you?"

His lips trailed a hot path just above her nose as he nodded. "I did." he breathed.

Pandora was about to say something when a high pitched voice interrupted her thoughts. The last voice she wished to hear during this very moment.

"Oh! Ronald, what are you doing down here?"

:::

**Yes. I've finished. I wrote this chapter in spurts. Creative spurts. Whew. On to next chapter! Hope you enjoyed it =) I know there were a lot of songs and singing and stuff of the like in this one, but there is a guitar involved and it IS an outlet for Pandora. Don't worry, it won't turn into t a songfic =P This wasn't meant to be a huge cliffy, btw, it may be obvious who interrupted their little "moment". Speaking of which, did I get enough Ron/Pandora moments in there for ya? =D Let me know if you like it, I LOVE reviews! ...but I refuse to DEMAND them.**

**Just saying.**


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